Karnataka tourist, paraglider pilot rescued in Kullu

Our Correspondent

Kullu, March 6

A tourist from Karnataka and the pilot had a narrow escape as their paraglider crash-landed and got stuck on a tree due to a gush of wind at Dhalpur here today.

According to the information, the pilot along with the client Vaishnavi from Karnataka took off from the Peej site in the afternoon. Both remained hung midair for about 30 minutes after being stuck on the tree near Forest Colony while landing. They were rescued by the personnel of the Fire Department and the police. Luckily, both escaped without any injuries.

The weather was overcast here since morning and the valley had also witnessed strong winds at night. The pilot said that the wind was fine at the time of take off and about four other paragliders had departed before his flight. He said that during his approach to landing, due to a sudden gush of wind, the paraglider was pulled back and they got stuck on a tree.

Two other paragliders, who also took off from Peej, were also caught in the gushing winds. One managed emergency landing near the Kala Kendra and the other landed at the Exhibition Ground. The revellers and the pilots of these were also safe.

According to the Himachal Pradesh Aero Sports Rules 2022, the operator shall have to necessarily ensure that aero sport activity is not carried out in bad weather. However, today’s incident where three paragliders were in jeopardy due to adverse weather conditions has again raised a question on the safety of the revellers while undertaking this adventurous but risky sport.

Last month, a 26-year-old female tourist from Telangana was killed due to harness failure midair during tandem paragliding at Dobhi in Manali subdivision on February 11. The Tourism Department had cancelled the licences of the pilot and the operator for negligence. The department had also banned paragliding at the Dobhi site till further orders after deficiencies were found there during investigations.

Paragliding associations have been assigned the responsibility of self-regulating the activity to ensure safety of the revellers. However, it seems that concrete steps will be required to be put in place regulate the paragliding activity, which is carried out in eight different sites in the valley.

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