A BASE jumper broke 10 bones in a horrifying accident during a jump off an 850-metre rocky outcrop.
Carlos Souto Maior, 40, collided with the rock face immediately after deploying his parachute, leaving him tumbling at breakneck speed.
Terrifying helmet and parachute footage show him grunting and bouncing off rocks before finally coming to a painful stop.
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He was airlifted to hospital where he underwent surgery, having suffered seven broken ribs, a broken tibia and two broken fibulas, along with cuts and scrapes all over his body, as reported by Need To Know.
The crash happened in Castelo, State of Espírito Santo, Brazil, on 13 August – the day after his birthday.
Carlos, a sergeant with Rio de Janeiro’s Fire Department, praised the first responders.
“They rescued me quickly and gave me the first treatment that was vital to saving my life,” he said.
“They took me to a hospital in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, where I needed a chest drain to breathe because I had blood and air in my pleura.
“The quick response was definitely key to me being alive, because I could have died with a punctured lung.
“Given everything that happened, I’m grateful, because it could have been much worse – I could be in a wheelchair.”
Despite being an experienced skydiver with over 270 jumps, Carlos was still a novice at BASE jumping.
The accident occurred on his sixth jump, under the watchful eye of an instructor and three more experienced colleagues.
He said: “I’m not experienced in BASE jumping – I’m a beginner.
“Packing the parachute is more specific, more detailed, and takes longer.
“I was still learning, just starting out, when I had this malfunction.
“I even had a couple of chances to correct it, but with so little experience and only seconds to react, I couldn’t avoid it.
“Still, I fought it out until the very end.”
Carlos believes the crash was caused by how his parachute was packed, his body position on deployment, and the wind conditions.
He said, “When the total malfunction happened, the parachute wrapped around me and I started tumbling down the rock face.”
The Rio lifeguard, who has worked on Copacabana Beach for 17 years, is now recovering at home.
He says the road ahead will be long, but he remains determined.
Carlos added: “The doctors are excellent and will do everything to minimise my after-effects. I’ll go back to work, back to a normal life.
“It’s just a matter of time, and if God wills it, soon I’ll be back saving people on the beach.”
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