A tragic mid-air collision involving two paragliders in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district has resulted in the death of a Belgian paraglider, just days before the 2024 Paragliding World Cup in Bir-Billing. The incident took place on Tuesday as Feyarets, a paraglider in his mid-sixties, was practicing for the upcoming event.
Despite taking off separately, Feyarets and another paraglider collided mid-air. While Feyarets crashed into a dense forested area, the second paraglider became entangled in tree branches and sustained injuries but was successfully rescued.
Efforts are underway to recover Feyarets’ body, according to local police. The accident is the second fatality at Bir-Billing within a week, following the death of Polish paraglider Andrez, who lost his life during a solo flight on October 23, 2023.
The incident has once again highlighted safety concerns around paragliding and other adventure sports in Himachal Pradesh. Avinash Negi, Director of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali, emphasized the need for improved safety protocols. He mentioned a proposal to install specialized towers in high-altitude regions to enhance location pinpointing during accidents. Currently, paragliders rely on GPS-enabled devices that send distress signals, but the imprecision in their data can sometimes hamper swift rescue operations, as they only narrow down the location within a 50-100 meter range.
This year’s World Cup, scheduled from November 2 to 9, is expected to draw 130 paragliders from 50 countries. However, the recent fatalities have raised concerns, especially as Bir-Billing remains one of the most popular but challenging sites for paragliding in India. Himachal Pradesh, known for its adventure tourism, has witnessed a number of accidents in recent years. The Himachal Pradesh High Court previously imposed a temporary ban on paragliding and other adventure activities in January 2022 following the death of a 12-year-old boy near the Bir-Billing site, underscoring the need for stricter regulatory measures and safety improvements in such high-risk sports.
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