A Queenstown man injured when his base jump in Skippers Canyon early yesterday went wrong could face trespass charges.
Acting Sergeant Terry Wood, of Queenstown, said the jumper was Christopher Judice (40), believed to be an experienced base jumper and skydiving jump master.
Mr Judice had gone to the privately-owned Pipeline Bridge in Skippers Canyon before 7am with a friend.
Acting Sgt Wood said Mr Judice's parachute opened correctly when he jumped from the 102m-high bridge, but he hit the cliff face about 30m above the canyon and plunged into the river, landing in about 30cm of water.
He was able to drag himself on to a sandbank, where he waited for his friend to get help.
Police were alerted at 7.20am. Mr Judice was assessed at the scene. He had cuts and bruises and a possible dislocated or broken pelvis.
He was airlifted to Southland Hospital in Invercargill, where a spokesman said he was in a stable condition awaiting surgery yesterday afternoon.
The Pipeline Bridge is owned by Queenstown-based bungy jump operator AJ Hackett Bungy, whose chief executive, Michelle Trapski, said the unauthorised jump was deeply concerning.
"The bridge has been non-operational for more than five years, and it is fenced off and clearly marked as private property `no unauthorised access'.
"The two jumpers blatantly trespassed," she said.
"We have not been contacted by anyone prior to this jump.
"Everyone in the base-jumping community knows we own the bridge, so there is no excuse for an experienced local person not to ask permission."
She said base jumpers have been interested in the site before, but AJ Hackett had not granted access.
"Without a comprehensive safety plan, we would not have permitted the jump, as we can not mitigate the risk.
"After all, we are responsible for that bridge," Ms Trapski said.
She said the company was considering taking action.
