E-Paper
Polish paraglider pilot goes missing in Kangra
Some locals had reported spotting him flying over Kareri village, a remote hamlet in the foothills of Dhauladhar, about 25 km northwest of Dharamshala, towards Khari Behi
A 70-year-old Polish paraglider pilot has been reported missing in Kangra after flying from Bir-Billing, the world renowned paragliding site. Flying solo, Andrzej Kulawik took off from Billing on Monday and had to land at Dharamshala.
Some locals had reported spotting him flying over Kareri village, a remote hamlet in the foothills of Dhauladhar, about 25 km northwest of Dharamshala, towards Khari Behi.
His daughter, Alicja Kulawik, sought help from paragliding community in Bir-Billing and Dharamshala to find her father.
“Dear good people of Bir and India, please help to find my father Andrzej Kulawik. He is lost and there is no contact with him since Monday afternoon when he was paragliding around Dharamshala. If you have seen him landing his glide somewhere, please let us know. Unfortunately my father doesn’t speak English,” she wrote on social media groups. She also posted photos of her father and his paraglider.
Kangra additional superintendent of police Hitesh Lakhanpal said that an aerial and ground search and rescue operation has been launched. However, there is no trace of him yet.
“An emergency team is currently searching in the mountains surrounding Kareri, his last known location,” he said.
The incident follows a paraglider crash last Friday which claimed life of a 29-year-old pilot from Lucknow, Abhiuday Verma.
Undertaking a thermalling course at a private paragliding schools at Bir, Verma had crashed into a hill soon after taking off from Billing after his paraglider reportedly stalled due to excessive brake input.
Earlier last week, a solo foreign paraglider made an emergency landing at a remote village in Bharmour of Chamba district.
Bir-Billing, one of the best paragliding sites in the world, is currently gearing up for Paragliding Pre-World Cup scheduled from October 26 to November 2.
Nearly 160 participants from 28 countries have registered to participate in the tournament being jointly organised by Billing Paragliding Association (BPA) and the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) .
Pilots from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, France, Sweden, Germany, China, South Africa, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Kazakhstan, Norway, Nepal, Vietnam, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Canada, and the paragliding teams of Indian Air Force, Army, and Navy will be participating in the event.
