Jawan posted in Palampur cantt dies in paragliding mishap
Palampur, October 6
Jorian Mabia (28), an Army jawan posted in Palampur cantonment, a resident of Chambgut, Mizoram, was killed when his paraglider crashlanded near Bir last evening. He was immediately shifted to the civil dispensary at Chogan and later taken to the Army Hospital in Palampur, but he died.
Official sources told The Tribune that the jawan was a learner and preparing for the “Inter-Services Paragliding Cross-Country Championship” to be organised by the Army from October 24 to 29 at Billing.
SDM, Baijnath, Salem Aazam, who is also chairman of SADA, said since the deceased pilot belonged to the Army, the authorities concerned would look into circumstances which led to the mishap.
The rising paragliding mishaps in Bir Billing have become a matter of concern. Paragliding pilots sometimes tend to overlook safety guidelines, which lead to fatal mishaps. Despite repeated requests of paragliding associations and other stakeholders, the Tourism Department has failed to appoint the staff to manage the affairs. At present, there is none at the take-off point to inspect the documents of pilots and their equipment.
There is only one supervisor appointed by the Special Area Development Authority (SADA) who, besides supervising the paragliding activities at Bir and Billing, has been assigned multiple tasks which make him “overburdened” and safety guidelines are sometimes ignored.
State agencies have come under the scanner following the rising mishaps at Bir Billing. In the past five years, over 35 paragliders have crashed in Kangra and Mandi districts after taking off from Billing, killing 12 pilots, including foreigners.
Last year, Rohit Badhoria, a Delhi-based pilot, was killed and his body was recovered after seven months from the Dhauladhars.
Last year in another mishap, Sandeep Chaudhary of Nagrota Bagwan was killed as the harness and belts of the glider were not properly tightened.
A Canadian pilot Cheval Christian Yaves Mare was also killed when his paraglider crash-landed near Bir. Cheval was flying alone when the tragedy occurred.
In another mishap in February 2020, paraglider Akshaya and co-pilot Shyam Lal were killed. Both had taken off from Billing but were untrained.
In 2018, a Singaporean pilot Kok Chang had died after his glider crash-landed in the upper reaches of the Dhauladhars. Earlier, two Russian pilots were killed in similar mishaps.
Two years back, Max Kent McGowan, a US pilot, remained stranded in snow-covered mountains for 60 hours after taking off from Billing when his glider moved in the wrong direction bordering the Chamba district. He neither had insurance cover, nor the permission to fly from the administration.
