Tourist from Hyderabad, pilot killed during paragliding in Sikkim

Their parachute got entangled in rope at Phaka and they lost control following which the two fell into the Lachung River. They were then swept away and got stuck beneath boulders in the middle of the river downstream.

A tourist from Hyderabad and her paragliding pilot were killed on Friday morning when they fell into a river during a paragliding session at Lachung in north Sikkim.

A tourist from Hyderabad and her paragliding pilot were killed on Friday morning when they fell into a river during a paragliding session at Lachung in Sikkim. (HT FILE PHOTO.)

Sikkim police said, paragliding pilot Sandeep Gurung (26), a resident of Reshithang near Gangtok and a passenger Esha Reddy Sankepalli (23) had taken a flight from Lachung View Point near Sarchok in the morning. The woman was travelling with a group.

Their parachute got entangled in rope at Phaka and they lost control following which the two fell into the Lachung River. They were then swept away and got stuck beneath boulders in the middle of the river downstream.

LB Chettri, the sub divisional police officer of Chungthang said: “The tourist and the pilot were swept away because of strong water current. It was tough to recover their bodies.”

A rescue operation was immediately initiated by the local police, the Gorkha Regiment and ITBP personnel under the supervision of senior police officers including sub divisional police officers of Chungthang and Lachung.

“Resources were mobilized including heavy earthmovers to trace and rescue the two people. Their bodies were recovered around 4pm after a prolonged search operation,” said AB Karki, the district collector of Mangan in Sikkim.