Manali: Foreign paraglider crashes to death; second in 48 hours
In a matter of 48 hours, two paragliders have died in Himachal Pradesh. The first incident involved a Belgian paraglider who died on Tuesday after his parachute failed to open due to a mid-air collision with another paraglider. The incident also left the Polish paraglider injured. The second death happened on Wednesday when Czech paraglider Dita Misurcova lost control due to strong winds and crashed near Marhi in Manali.
Mid-air collision leads to Belgian paraglider's death
Ten paragliders were in the air when the collision took place on Tuesday. The deceased has been identified as Feyaret. The second fatality was Czech paraglider Dita Misurcova (43). Misurcova was an experienced solo paraglider with six years of experience. She was rushed to a hospital after the crash, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Efforts to improve paragliding safety measures underway
Kangra district's deputy director of tourism, Vinay Dhiman, observed that accidents are more likely when paragliders enter high-risk zones without sufficient knowledge of local wind conditions and topography. "We are in the process of documenting the thermals in the Bir-Billing area with the help of experts to reduce the probability of accidents," he said. Whereas, Avinash Negi, Director of ABVIMAS in Manali, suggested the installation of special towers in high mountains to identify crash sites in case of accidents.
Paragliding World Cup 2024 to proceed despite fatalities
These incidents come days ahead of the Paragliding World Cup, which is slated from November 2-9 in Bir-Billing. The event will see 130 participants from 50 countries. Last year, around the same time, three paragliders—Russian, Polish, and Indian—were also killed within a week while paragliding in this region. Bir Billing is the world's second highest paragliding site and one of the top paragliding destinations in the world.
