Date:01/05/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/05/01/stories/2008050150812200.htm

International

Sydney BASE jumpers caught

SYDNEY: A BASE jumper landed in trouble on Wednesday when he parachuted from a Sydney high-rise building into the path of a police car.

Two officers on a patrol spotted the man floating to earth before he landed in front of their car about 3 a.m., the state police said in a statement. A second jumper landed around the same time on the same street.

Both men, aged 27, were arrested “after a short foot chase,” the statement said. They were charged with risking public safety by abseiling, jumping or parachuting from a building or other structure. The potential maximum penalty was not clear.

The Sydney residents, who were not publicly identified, were released on bail and will appear in a Sydney court May 22 to enter a plea, police said.

BASE jumping is a sport involving jumping with a parachute from fixed objects, with BASE being an acronym for four categories of such fixed objects: buildings, antennae, spans and earth. — AP