Media all over the world are publishing the breathtaking clip of the base jump that almost goes horribly wrong. The clip published on Youtube has already been viewed more than 1 million times.
– It is amazing. We knew this would get a lot of attention, but we had no idea that it would amount to these proportions, says Editorial manager - TV projects & new formats in NRK, Eiliv Flakne.
– The clip is unique and terrifyingly wonderful to watch, he says.
Base jumper Richard Henriksen tries to swing of a gymnastics bar, over a 1200 meter high cliff in Eikesdal Møre og Romsdal in Norway, when one of the bolts give in sending him over the edge.
– People who get it get it, and people who don't, never will
When Henriksen now googles his name, it turns up on more than 300 news agencies in more than 20 countries.
– I clicked on a Chinese page and just saw loads of Chinese signs, my name and the video, he says.
Base jumper Richard Henriksen is a doctor and a father of-five.
Foto: Vigdis Wågø-Wares / NRK– It's a bit funny to see it travel the world, while I'm done with the whole thing. It was a close call, but it ended well and I handled the situation, says Henriksen.
Journalists describe the sound of metal hitting the cliffs, and the astonished audience gasping for air witnessing what they believe is a man plunging to his death.
– I'm sure there are people out there who think it's a silly risk to take for a doctor and a father-of-five. I don't read alot of the articles, because I don't want those people to influence how I feel, says Henriksen.
– People who get it, get it. People who don't, never will.
This video taken from a different angle shows that Henriksen was just angles from hitting his head on the edge of the cliff
– Maybe I'll change my name to CNN-Osen
– It is really amazing. I'm considering changing my name to CNN-Osen, says tv-presenter Are Sende Osen.
Tv presenter for NRK
Foto: Erlend Lånke Solbu / NRKThese are some of the news agencies who picked up the story:
Australia (news.com.au)
Brazil (Odia)
Denmark (DR)
France (Gentside)
Greece (Newsbomb)
Ireland (Newstalk)
Italy (La Repubblica)
China (kexue.com)
Korea (chosun.com)
Croatia (Index.hr)
Peru (América Noticias)
Poland (Onet)
Portugal (Diario Digital)
Slovakia (topky.sk)
Slovenia (Dnevnik)
Taiwan (ETtoday)
Turkey (Mynet Haber)
Germany (Augsburger Allgemeine)
USA (Daily News).
Believe the clip is a hoax
Some have also contacted NRK wondering if the video is a hoax, and on the popular blog Huffington Post, people speculate that it could have been a UFO that caused the bar to loosen.
– I totally understand. I would have thought the same, but truth is stranger than fiction, says Are Sende Osen.
Flakne thinks it's quite amusing that people think the video is fake.
– But we don't cheat, it is fundamental for NRK that everything we broadcast is the truth, he says.
