A young paraglider pilot got caught in the ropes of a mountain railway in Upper Bavaria, triggering an hour-long and dramatic large-scale operation. It was not until Friday night that the 26-year-old was freed from the mountain rescue service after around eleven hours and was then taken to hospital with minor injuries, a police spokesman said. Previously, several media had reported.

The man had therefore caught himself at the highest point of the Hochfelln cable car in Bergen in the Chiemgau about 80 meters above the ground with his aircraft in the steel cables. A crash at this point would have been life-threatening, if not fatal, the spokesman stressed.

According to the mountain rescue service, the paraglider of the man from Upper Bavaria had wrapped itself around the suspension ropes and thus saved the man from falling. A rescue by helicopter was not possible. The emergency services therefore carefully worked their way over the suspension cable of the railway with a special device to the scene of the accident.

The operation of the railway was stopped after the alarm was raised on Thursday at around 15 p.m. Around 20 passengers were then stuck in the two gondolas for hours. They were brought to the ground by the mountain rescue service with lifebelts. About 50 people who were still at the summit were flown into the valley by several helicopters - including infants, the elderly, a pregnant woman, as well as two dogs. The Bundeswehr also took part in the operation.

It was initially unclear how the flight accident could have occurred.