A thrill-seeking adventure turned into a nightmare for an inexperienced BASE jumper as his parachute became tangled.
Carlos Souto Maior, 40, a trained firefighter and rescue swimmer, was attempting just his sixth BASE jump when he was slammed repeatedly into a cliff and plunged almost 900m to the ground in Castelo, Brazil, on August 13.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Terrifying moment unexperienced BASE jumper falls 900m of a cliff.
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The horror accident was captured on his helmet-mounted camera, with chilling footage showing the harrowing moment things started to go wrong.
Major, who is an experienced skydiver but still new to BASE jumping, launched himself from a rocky cliff after a countdown.
Moments later, his parachute opened incorrectly and quickly became twisted.
Major admitted he had little time to react and lacked the know-how to correct the issue.
“I had a few chances to fix it but, because I had little experience and just seconds to act, I couldn’t prevent it,” he wrote on his Instagram account.
Major was violently slammed against the cliff multiple times before spiraling uncontrollably through the air, being smashed against the cliff and crashing into a forested area below.
Despite serious injuries, he remained conscious and managed to call for help himself.
Emergency crews airlifted him to a nearby hospital where he was treated for multiple broken ribs, bone fractures and a significant lung injury.
“I needed to have a drain put in my lung to breathe as I had blood and air in my pleura,” he said.
After 10 days in hospital, Major was discharged and is now recovering.
Major shared images of his injuries and footage from the fall on social media as a chilling reminder of how quickly things can go wrong in extreme sports.
BASE jumping involves using a parachute to jump from each of the categories of buildings, antenna (such as radio towers), spans (bridges) and earth (such as cliffs).
Experts warn BASE jumping is far more dangerous than traditional skydiving due to the lower altitude, which gives jumpers far less time to deploy and adjust their parachutes.
Despite the close call, Major hasn’t said whether he plans to continue with the sport, but he’s already thankful to be alive.
“Another date to add as a birthday: 13/8,” he said.
“Fear blinds our dreams, my soul is made of dreams, but as everything has its risks, sometimes things can go wrong and not turn out as we planned.
“With my head held high and keeping my faith in God, I continue my journey, currently in bed, consolidating my broken bones.
“In life, everything passes: the good things and the bad things.
“And this phase too will pass. Today I am better than yesterday, tomorrow I will be better than today.
“One day at a time.”
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