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French pilot, 60, found hanging from tree after three-day search

Bernard Mengin is recovering in hospital after rescuers eventually located his motor glider in a tree in mountains across the Spanish border.

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Rescue workers found a 60-year old Frenchman hanging from a tree in the Pyrenees mountains on Thursday after a three-day search, reports RFI.

His parachute had caught in the branches after his motorglider crashed on the Spanish side of the border with France.

After three days of intensive search - 80 hours of flying involving seven French and Spanish rescue planes and helicopters - Spanish air rescue services found the missing pilot seriously injured but alive near the tiny state of Andorra.

Bernard Mengin was airlifted to a hospital in the Spanish town of Lerida and is being cared for there but his life is not in danger.

"He must have gone through a terrible time" thanks to his injuries, his position in the tree and the cold nights, explained rescue officer David Segheto.

Read more of this report from RFI.

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