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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Mark Smith & Sara Odeen-Isbister

Man breaks both legs and possibly his spine after jumping off waterfall at UK beauty spot

A man who jumped from a waterfall in Wales is believed to have broken both his legs and may have suffered spinal injuries.

He had jumped from Sgwd Gladys near Pontneddfechan, Powys in the Brecon Beacons yesterday (August 13) just before 5.30pm.

Emergency services were called and due to the seriousness of the incident, the team requested help from the neighbouring Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team, reports Wales Online.

Helicopters from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency and the Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service (EMRTS) were also in attendance.

The severely injured man was put in a vacuum mattress, placed on a stretcher, and winched from the scene before being taken to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff for treatment.

One woman who says she was at the incident at the time said in a post on Facebook : "I unfortunately witnessed this and it is a sight/sound that will stay with me for sometime.

Rescuers at the scene of the accident (Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team)

"I really do hope for a positive outcome for him and that this will help deter people and get them to do a little more research before risking their lives."

A spokesperson for Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team said: "Our 100th callout this year was to assist our Western Beacons Mountain Rescue Team colleagues with a male who'd jumped off Sgwd Gwladus waterfall near Pontneddfechan and suffered suspected broken legs with possible spinal injuries.

"Another occasion of terrific joint working with Emergency Medical Retrieval and Transfer Service - EMRTS Wales Wales Air Ambulance and Maritime and Coastguard Agency Rescue187 #StAthan, we packaged the male into a vacuum mattress for full body immobilisation, placed him in a stretcher, then winched aboard the rescue helicopter and flown to University Hospital Cardiff.

The injured man was winched up to a helicopter then flown to hospital (Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team)

"We wish the gentlemen a full and speedy recovery."

Last week we reported how a horrified mum captured the exact moment her teenage son broke his back in a tombstoning stunt during a family holiday in Wales.

Lindsay Wilson, 41, was on a break in Pembrokeshire with her son Sam when they visited the former quarry known as the Blue Lagoon.

The area is popular with people to jump from its high walls into the deep water.

Sam had already made the 30ft jump once and when he climbed up again his mother took out her phone to record it.

Seconds after he splashed into the water it was clear he was injured when the youngster turned pale as he held on to rocks, Wales Live reported.

Eventually he was helped out and rushed to hospital.

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