KULLU: Two tourists have died in separate ‘tandem paragliding’ crashes in Kullu and Kangra districts in the last two days, raising questions about the safety standards practised in adventure sports in Himachal Pradesh.
A tourist from Tamil Nadu died, and the pilot was seriously injured in a mid-air crash of two paragliders in Garsa Valley of Kullu district on Jan 17. A Jayesh, 28, succumbed to his injuries in a govt hospital in Kullu. Ashwani Kumar, 27, the pilot, was referred to PGIMER, Chandigarh. The police registered a case and are inquiring into the accident.
In the second incident, a 19-year-old girl from Gujarat died after her pilot crashed the paraglider seconds after taking off from Indrunag paragliding site in Dharamshala in Kangra district on Jan 18. According to a police officer, the accident happened after the pilot lost balance during take-off and fell into a ditch, around 60ft below, along with the co-flyer.
Bhaveshawar Khushi and Munish Kumar were taken to the govt hospital in Dharamshala, where Khushi succumbed to her injuries. Munish was referred to the medical college and hospital in Tanda, where his condition is reported to be out of danger. A police officer said that a case has been registered.
“The accident happened around sunset. We are checking whether the administration allows flying at that hour. Any action would be taken after the completion of the inquiry,” said a police officer.
This is the third such fatality in a paragliding crash in Himachal this month. On Jan 8, a Telangana tourist died in a paragliding crash in Raison village near Manali in Kullu district. The deceased, Mahesh Reddy, 32, a resident of RK Puram in Ranga Reddy district of Telangana, was taken to the nearby Kullu hospital but succumbed to his injuries. Reddy came to Manali on vacation with his friends and stopped at Raison to try paragliding.
According to experts, pilot error is a major cause of paragliding accidents in Himachal Pradesh, along with weak regulations by local administrations
