Officer survives 1500m fall

A Peruvian Air Force sergeant whose parachute malfunctioned during a training exercise survived a 1524m fall without breaking a bone.

"It's a miracle he's alive," Guillermo Pacheco, a doctor, said.

Amasifuen Gamarra, 31, underwent a battery of medical tests at a hospital in Arequipa, Pacheco said, "and there weren't any fractures".

The doctor said that when Gamarra had tried to open his parachute, the webbing wrapped around his neck and he lost consciousness.

"We don't know what cushioned his fall but he's alive," the doctor repeated.

Gamarra, who had served in the air force for eight years, was transferred to a military hospital for additional medical testing.