Skydiver rescued during mid-air seizure

Sydney -

An Australian skydiver suffered a seizure during a training jump and lived to tell the tale thanks to a dramatic mid-air rescue over Western Australia, according to footage published online.

Nearly 2 million people had watched the video of the parachute jump as of Tuesday, a day after it was posted on the internet.

The trainee skydiver, known only as Christopher, suffered a seizure and lost consciousness seconds after jumping out of the plane near the town of Pinjarra in November.

He was in freefall for some 30 seconds before his instructor, identified in the media as Sheldon McFarlane from the WA Skydiving Academy, soared down towards him and pulled his parachute ripcord.

Christopher regained consciousness and made a controlled landing.

Christopher had a medical certificate saying he was fit for jumping, according to the academy's business manager Robin O'Neill.

“Obviously he wasn't. That was the end of his skydiving career” O'Neill told broadcaster ABC.

The skydiving academy said that their parachutes are also able to deploy automatically if necessary.

Sapa-dpa