Injured Queenstown paraglider on repat flight to Aus

Long road ahead: Queenstown paraglider Nick Neynens, pictured flying in 2015

Queenstown paraglider Nick Neynens, who suffered a serious cliffside crash in France, boarded a repatriation flight to Brisbane yesterday.

He was initially set to fly to Brisbane last Saturday, but tested positive for Covid and was unable to travel.

Since the crash on June 14, leaving Neynens with serious injuries to his head and spine, he has been recovering in a French hospital, supported by his mum, Karen.

In a video update, Neynens says: ‘‘Everything’s going pretty well, the sewing in my back’s pretty much healed, I’ve just got to give that a bit more air.

‘‘I’ve basically got no use of my legs but it’s a long road ahead to see if I can get some of that back,’’ he says.

Neynens’ friend, Susy Goldner, last week set up a GoFundMe page to help with repatriation costs and other medical-related and living expenses.

As of yesterday the page had reached more than $63,000 in donations.

‘‘Thanks for all the donations so far, it’s been amazing and if we end up having too much money — although [repatriation is] probably going to cost a lot — we’ll have to think of something to do with it,’’ he says.

To donate, visit: bit.ly/3I1oh3p

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