Firefighters used a ladder to rescue a paraglider who landed on a streetlight pole in central Queenstown yesterday.
The rescue, before a crowd of onlookers, took only 10 minutes after the solo pilot landed on a pole next to the fire station, on the corner of Camp and Man Sts, about 3.30pm.
He was unhurt, but left the scene before the Otago Daily Times could speak to him.
The pole is beside the Queenstown Recreation Ground, the normal landing place for paragliders taking off from the Skyline gondola hill.
Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Terry O'Connell said the rescue was straightforward.
The pilot climbed down a ladder.
Bystanders disentangled the chute from a nearby tree.
Mr O'Connell said the Fire Service usually rescued paragliders from trees, but he had rescued a pilot from a pole in Man St, several years ago.
G-Force Paragliding chief executive Gavin Taylor said the paraglider had nothing to do with the company, which is the only commercial operator licensed to fly from the Skyline gondola hill.
