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Paraglider causes outage by hitting Spanish cables

MADRID (AP) — Spanish officials say a paraglider is recovering in the hospital after getting tangled in high-tension power cables that had to be shut down, causing a power outage on part of the Canary Island of Tenerife.

The regional government says its emergency coordinating center received several alerts reporting a paraglider dangling from high-tension power lines near the beach of El Arenal.

Energy utility Endesa cut the power, affecting the Punta del Hidalgo and Las Carboneras areas, as a rescue helicopter was scrambled.

The 50-year-old man was eventually cut down by rescue workers using a 50-meter (164-foot) telescopic boom after hanging suspended for more than three hours late Friday.

A government statement said Saturday he suffered dehydration and bruising.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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