Doctors at a hospital here gave a British para glider a new lease of life after he suffered severe fractures in head, face and chest during an expedition in Himachal Pradesh.

Anthony Barry Roberts, a 55-year-old trained para-glider with 15 years' experience, was paragliding in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh when he was hit by the sudden turbulent weather.As a result, his face smashed against a rock and he was left suspended by his parachute. After a Russian para glider, administered first aid, Roberts managed to send a distress SOS from his satellite phone.He was rescued the next day in an immensely complicated rescue operation and was immediately rushed to a local hospital, where he was detected with six fractured ribs and a ruptured lung.

Due to his severe condition, Roberts was air-lifted to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi, after two days."Roberts had a compound comminuted fracture of the frontal bone in the brain, which means the bone broke into more than two fragments," Rajendra Prasad, Neurosurgeon at the hospital, said in a statement On Thursday. "He also had extensive facial bones and skull base fractures. It was an intensely complicated surgery which involved repairing the covering of the brain (Dura) and stabilising the frontal and facial bone fractures. It is truly a medical miracle that he is even alive," Prasad added.Post the surgery, Roberts' condition improved and he was later shifted to the UK, the doctors said.