paragliding
This image displays aerial action from the Australian Open Paragliding Championships at Borah Ridge, New South Wales, Australia, March.5, 1999. Adam Pretty /Allsport

A paraglider was torn through the air by a dust devil while preparing for a flight at Manilla, New South Wales in Australia on Wednesday.

The man, reported to be an experienced paraglider, was one among the 40 people setting up to take off. Suddenly, a dust devil - a small whirlwind over land, formed and came toward the launch area. The man was caught off guard as the dust devil caught him and flung him into the air.

Video footage, shot by his wife, shows the paraglider, who was visiting from overseas, being lifted up in the air by the dust devil before being flung around and ejected out to the side. Meanwhile, the other pilots watched on before trying to save other launch mats.

In the video, the woman can be seen screaming in horror while her husband is being swirled around by the whirlwind. She can then be heard asking the other pilots if he is okay.

Chief Flying Instructor at Manilla Paragliding Godfrey Wenness told storyful, “The pilot quickly regained control of the glider and flew away to continue on a relatively uneventful five hour and 180 km cross country flight.”

“The pilot was uninjured by the incident. The paraglider was undamaged. The video was taken by his wife who is also a pilot,” he added.

Speaking about the dust devil, he said, “Dust devils are the visible rotating core of intense updrafts of air and typically occur on hot dry days, in certain atmospheric conditions. They can often be seen inland over dusty paddocks over the summer months and occasionally develop on mountain tops.”

“Paraglider pilots are taught the risks and avoid flying in or near dust devils,” Wenness said, Yahoo 7 reported.

In another incident related to paragliding accidents, a paraglider was killed and another severely injured in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal last year. The wing of the glider brushed a tree after being buffeted by a sudden strong gust, resulting in the glider falling around 40 feet onto the concrete roof of a building.