Table Mountain base jumper won’t be charged
2012-01-19 14:06
Video
2012-01-17 08:19
Wing-suit flyer Jeb Corliss crashed while attempting to base jump off Table Mountain. He survived but has multiple fractures. Watch the footage of the crash. WATCH
Cape Town - Table Mountain National Park will not press charges against a base jumper who was severely injured in an illegal jump, SA National Parks said on Thursday.
"No, we're not going to lay charges, but he will be fined R1 500. The South African film company who was commissioned to document his flight will also be fined," said spokesperson Merle Collins.
"There is a very real possibility that we'll never give the company a permit to film in any of our national parks. All of these details will be decided upon after we check the facts."
American Jeb Corliss, 35, an internationally renowned base jumper, was injured when he jumped off the mountain near the cable car station on Monday.
He clipped a rock and tumbled 60 metres into Contour Path.
Base jumpers freefall until, just before landing, they open their parachutes.
Collins said Corliss was lucky his parachute opened before impact as this had softened his fall.
"We have people who fall 30m off the mountain and die," she said.
Corliss did not have a permit to jump as the park denied permission for all base jumpers.
The unidentified South African film company, commissioned by the United States television network HBO, did not have a permit to film on the property either.
"HBO apologised to us. They thought they had a permit to film there. They were under the impression all the permits were in order," Collins said.
She said Corliss's injuries were enough warning for anyone wanting to attempt a similar act.
"The man is an expert stuntman and if he can fall, then what about your lesser beings?" she asked.
- SAPA
