A Chinese paraglider claimes he survived after being sucked into a storm cloud and carried to an altitude of 8,598 metres during a flight over snow-capped mountains.

The incident occurred as the pilot, Liu Ge, flew over the Qilian Mountains in north-western China on May 24.

Liu had launched from an elevation of over 3,000 metres (9,800 feet).

But a short while later, his glider became uncontrollable and was drawn into a powerful updraft, propelling him more than 5,000 metres (16,400 feet) higher.

Video footage shows Liu without an oxygen mask, his face exposed to freezing air, and his body covered in ice as he remained conscious and managed to control the paraglider before making a safe landing.

After landing, Liu recalled: 'I felt oxygen deficiency, my hands were freezing outside... but I kept communicating via my radio'

He is under observation in hospital being treated for frostbite but is expected to make a full recovery.

Liu somehow managed to survive being as high as 8,598 metres (28,200 feet), an altitude where temperatures can plummet to around -40 degrees Celsius and oxygen levels are dangerously thin.

It is also the height where most commercial planes fly, making Liu's ordeal all the more hazardous.

Local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident as he had apparently not properly filled in the paperwork to request permission for a flight, and it had not been authorised.

There are also local restrictions on where paragliders can take from and he had allegedly also breached this.