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Paragliding accident in Himachal claims lives of UP man, local
The deceased have been identified 31-year-old Akash Aggarwal, a resident of Ghaziabad and Rakesh Kumar, 29, who was helping the pilot to take off in Kangra’s Billing
In yet another mishap involving adventure sports activities, two persons died after they fell from a paraglider at Billing take-off site near Bir village in Baijanth subdivision of Kangra district on Tuesday afternoon.
The deceased have been identified 31-year-old Akash Aggarwal, a resident of Ghaziabad and Rakesh Kumar, 29, who was helping the pilot to take off. Pilot Vikas Kapoor, also a resident of Bir, was seriously injured and has been referred to the Dr Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College, Tanda.
Kangra superintendent of police Khushal Chand Sharma said that Akash Aggarwal, who was on a tour to Bir-Billing, had booked a tandem flight for joyride.
Initial investigations revealed that Rakesh Kumar, who was assisting the pilot, got entangled in the glider’s risers during the take off and was dragged along due to which the pilot lost the control. Aggarwal and Rakesh fell from a height of about 30 feet and the pilot was also injured after crash-landing.
“We are checking the video footage of the action camera that they were carrying. The logbook of the pilot is also being checked to check his flying experience,” said Sharma.
It is worth mentioning that in November last year, a 30-year-old youth from Nagrota Bagwan of Kangra was killed at Bir-Billing after the safety harness got unattached.
Before that, one person had died in Dharamshala after he got stuck in the paraglider while assisting the pilot to take off.
Bir-Billing is a famous paragliding site in Himachal which also hosted a paragliding world cup in 2015 and is a major tourist attraction.
