UKIP candidate Nigel Farage tonight said he was 'lucky to be alive' after a miracle escape from a horrific plane crash when a last-minute election stunt went dramatically wrong.
Mr Farage is being treated in hospital after chipping his spine, damaging his breastbone and breaking two ribs in the accident, which came barely an hour after polling booths opened.
He was hauled to safety with blood trickling down his face after the aircraft plummeted to the ground at 70mph when a banner declaring 'Vote for your country, vote UKIP' became tangled in its tail fin.
Mr Farage is being treated in hospital after chipping his spine, damaging his breastbone and breaking two ribs in the accident, which came barely an hour after polling booths opened.
He was hauled to safety with blood trickling down his face after the aircraft plummeted to the ground at 70mph when a banner declaring 'Vote for your country, vote UKIP' became tangled in its tail fin.
The impact was so strong that the engine broke off and the plane flipped over onto its roof, leaving the flamboyant politician and pilot Justin Adams bent double under the shattered fuselage.
Still strapped in, they were stuck face down on the grass - Mr Farage's pin-striped suit trousers torn and Mr Adams without one shoe.
Aides rushing to the wrecked plane initially feared they were both dead because there were such chaotic scenes at the private airfield in Northamptonshire.
But when they reached the aircraft, both were conscious and Mr Farage could be heard moaning 'get me out'. The blood-splattered Westminster hopeful was clearly terrified as he was helped to his feet.
Still strapped in, they were stuck face down on the grass - Mr Farage's pin-striped suit trousers torn and Mr Adams without one shoe.
Aides rushing to the wrecked plane initially feared they were both dead because there were such chaotic scenes at the private airfield in Northamptonshire.
But when they reached the aircraft, both were conscious and Mr Farage could be heard moaning 'get me out'. The blood-splattered Westminster hopeful was clearly terrified as he was helped to his feet.
The usually ebullient politician, still with his party rosette pinned to his lapel, muttered 'I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared' as paramedics rushed to the scene.
He had already performed the same stunt twice during the election campaign without incident and had invited photographers along to capture the final flourish.
Moments before the two-seater plane had taken off, the high-profile Eurosceptic had smoked a cigarette and joked: 'I just hope the plane doesn't blow up and crash.'
He had already performed the same stunt twice during the election campaign without incident and had invited photographers along to capture the final flourish.
Moments before the two-seater plane had taken off, the high-profile Eurosceptic had smoked a cigarette and joked: 'I just hope the plane doesn't blow up and crash.'
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