Strangers On Facebook Pay Medical Bills For Skydiver Who Survived 12,000-Foot Plunge

Ben Cornick is a miracle man.

The 31-year-old skydiver from the U.K. somehow survived a jump-gone-wrong on Jan. 14 in Fiji, when he plummeted about 12,000 feet and landed on a parked van, according to ABC.

Cornick, an experienced skydiver, sustained serious injuries, Wales Online reported, including breaking his right femur in three places. Doctors in Fiji said he'd need to take an emergency flight to a hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, according to the news outlet, which cost roughly £20,000 ($33,126). Cornick is uninsured, according to the Western Daily Press.

Then a second miracle occurred. Friends set up a Facebook donation page. Together -- and with the generosity of complete strangers -- they raised almost £50,000 ($82,815) for the flight and Cornick's medical bills, according to ABC.

"It is amazing, absolutely phenomenal," Cornick's stepmother, Sue Lord, told the Daily Press. "It is hard to put into words how grateful we are."

Facebook updates said Cornick's surgeries were successful. On Tuesday, Cornick himself took to the page to say he'd be going into another surgery for a fracture on his hip. He also thanked the friends and strangers who helped cover his bills.

h/t Uproxx.com