A champion paraglider is being hailed as “the luckiest woman alive” after being caught in a freak storm that sucked her to an altitude higher than Mount Everest.

Ewa Wisnierska is believed to have flown unconscious for almost one hour through a violent thunderstorm which catapulted her to the cruise altitude of a jumbo jet and left her body covered in bruises and shrouded in ice.

Incredibly, her paraglider came through the storm intact and she eventually landed 60 kilometres from her launch site. Ms Wisnierska, 35, was treated in hospital for severe frostbite injuries to her face but was otherwise unharmed after her ordeal.

But He Zhongpin, a Chinese paraglider who flew into the same storm, was found dead on Thursday, 75km from his launch site. He is believed to have suffocated or frozen to death after being sucked up into the storm’s centre.

Mr He had ten years experience in the sport and was a member of China’s national paragliding team. Police are now analysing data retrieved from his GPS instruments to map his exact flight path.

The paragliders were among 200 taking part in a routine training exercise in New South Wales for next week’s world championships.

Speaking from her hospital bed today, Ms Wisnierska, a German of Polish descent who is ranked among Europe’s top paragliders, recounted what she knew of her journey through the violent storm.

“You can’t imagine the power - you feel like nothing, like a leaf from a tree going up,” she said. “I was shaking all the time. The last thing I remember it was dark. I could hear lightning all around me. I knew I was in the middle of a thunderstorm and I could not do anything.”

She added: “From the theory, I knew the chances to survive were almost zero, I knew I can only have luck, I can’t do anything - and I got it.

Ms Wisnierska’s paraglider was equipped with an onboard tracking system which clocked her ascent at 20 metres per second, once the storm began to suck her upwards, eventually reaching a height of 32,600ft (9,946 metres). Her later descent was recorded at 33 metres per second.

"I wanted to fly around the clouds but I got sucked up into it and started to spiral,” said Ms Wisnierska.

“I was thinking I can’t do anything so I only have to wait and hope that the clouds were bringing me out somewhere. Then I woke up and was thinking I was maybe unconscious for one minute. I didn’t know I was unconscious for so long.”

She woke more than 45 minutes later and at a height of 22,637ft (6,900 metres) to find herself still stuck in the storm, surrounded by darkness and with her gloves frozen.

“I saw my hands and the gloves were frozen and I didn’t have the brakes, and the glider was still flying on its own.

“It was amazing because the glider was still flying. I don’t know how it is possible because there was hail everywhere, into the glider, into my harness, and it was still flying.”

Despite being dazed and confused from the lack of oxygen, Ms Wisnierska turned her attention to getting back to ground after eventually escaping the storm clouds. She picked out a farm in the distance and was able to land safely. Her crew eventually tracked her down by radio.

Doctors later told her that blacking out may have saved her life, because her heart and body slowed down. Temperatures at a height of 9,000 metres drop below minus 40C.

Godfrey Wenness, president of the Manilla Sky Sailors Club and an organiser of the forthcoming world championships, compared Ms Wisnierska’s survival to winning the lottery “10 times in a row.”

“I would say she is the luckiest woman in the world right now, not exaggerating or being sensational at all.

“The Chinese man died, she survived. There’s no logical reason why she got away with it.”

He said the storm cell had been building since the early morning and all paragliders had been briefed about the danger before beginning their training flights. He added that the world championships would begin on schedule on February 24, despite the death of Mr He.

Despite frostbite to her legs and ears Ms Wisnierska said she still hopes to compete in the world championships. “Flying is too fantastic to stop because of an accident,” she said.

Explore World News

• World Agenda

• Iraq News

• US & Americas News

• Europe News

• Middle East News

• Asia News

• Africa News

• Ireland News

Times Recommends

• Rio Tinto four held as China prepares case
• Diplomats must keep heads down and trousers up
• When in Rome should one make like Berlusconi?