Happy ending to a paraglider’s overnight odyssey at Ngong Ping Plateau

A 67-year-old paraglider was rescued after he landed in the woods at Ngong Ping Plateau in Ma On Shan on Friday afternoon and had to camp overnight because his phone couldn’t receive any signal. 

It is understood that the paraglider, a retired English teacher surnamed Chung, took off around 4 pm on Friday, only he discovered too late that thick fog had rolled across the sky. 

He then made an emergency landing after seeing a field underneath but failed to make any calls as there was no internet reception in the area. 

Chung finally slept through the night by a tree and started to search for a way out after he woke up the next morning. 

“As I kept walking, I could finally dial 999 and police then called firefighters,” Chung said. He added that he was able to tell rescuers his location through Google Map’s GPS function after his phone received some signal around 7 am Saturday. 

He thanked God and recalls calming himself down by continuously praying. He also said he probably couldn’t have made it out had he fallen among the trees. 

He also thought about his whole life and asked himself if this was the end for him. 

Chung, unharmed, thanked firefighters and later left on his own.