E-Paper
Himachal: 19-year-old woman dies in Dharamshala paragliding mishap
Nearly a dozen paragliders, including some foreigners, have been killed in the last two years in Himachal Pradesh, raising question marks on safety arrangements.
A 19-year-old female tourist died in a paragliding accident while taking-off at the Indrunag paragliding site near Dharamshala on Saturday evening. The deceased, who has been identified as Bhavsar Khushi from Gujarat, was on a tandem flight. She fell during take-off along with her pilot who also sustained injuries. The incident occurred around 5 pm on Saturday. She was on a family trip in Dharamshala.
This comes after a tourist from Tamil Nadu was killed and a pilot severely injured after the paraglider they were on collided with another one in Kullu on Friday. Earlier, a tourist from Andhra Pradesh was killed in a paragliding crash at Raison in Manali on January 9.
Police officials said Bhavsar Khushi died while she was being taken to the zonal hospital in Dharamshala. The body has been handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.
Kangra ASP Bir Bahadur said, “The incident happened under Dharamshala police station at the Indrunag paragliding site. The tourist fell during the paragliding and was taken to hospital but she died on her way. Police have initiated an investigation, and statements will be recorded of all those who were present at the spot.”
Nearly a dozen paragliders, including some foreigners, have been killed in the last two years in Himachal Pradesh, raising question marks on safety arrangements. In October last year, a Belgian paraglider, Patrice Feyaerts, lost his life as after a mid-air collision shortly after taking off at Bir Billing. His reserve parachute failed to deploy after the collision. Also, a solo Czech paraglider, Dita Misurcova, crashed into the mountains near Marhi in Manali after she lost control of the glider due to strong winds.
A paragliding accident had in April last year claimed the life of a 54-year-old woman in the high hills of Dhauladhar range. She had taken off from Bir-Billing, flying and reportedly crash-landing near Thati village in Baijnath tehsil.
