Johannesburg - A skydiver survived a 3 300 plunge with only a fractured pelvic bone after her parachute failed to open, a news report said on Monday.
Christine McKenzie jumped from a plane to the Johannesburg Skydiving Club during a routine jump when her main parachute failed to open after a free-fall of about 45 seconds, the Johannesburg-based The Star reported.
"When she pulled on her parachute cord ready for the gentle descent to the ground, the chute didn't open," the newspaper said.
"She tugged at her reserve, but it opened so forcefully that some of the lines snapped and became tangled," it said.
The 23-year-old McKenzie tried to untangle the lines, but there was nothing she could do.
"I was in a spiral heading to the ground," she told the paper, remembering that she hit power lines which broke her fall.
"If it wasn't for the lines I would have died.
"It all happened so fast.
"I hit the ground really hard and I was kinda waiting to die.
"Then the pain set in," she told the paper from her hospital bed.
She was rushed to a Johannesburg hospital where doctors found only a fractured pelvic bone and some bruises.
Vana Gulliver, an instructor at the club, said having a reserve parachute malfunction was extremely rare.
"We have never heard of that before," she told the paper.
Added McKenzie, who was on her 112th jump: "I'll jump again."
god loves her