Manali: A tourist from Haryana and a paragliding instructor from Kullu valley died after their paraglider crashed near Dobhi village in Kullu -Manali on Wednesday. The duo were in tandem flight when the accident occurred.
A tandem paraglider is designed to carry two people—the instructor and the passenger. The passenger is strapped into a harness right in front of an experienced pilot during the paragliding flights.
According to reports, the pilot lost control due to strong winds and harsh weather conditions during mid-flight. Both landed hard on the ground and were immediately rushed to a hospital. The tourist was declared brought dead and the pilot too succumbed to his injuries.
The deceased have been identified as Aditya Sharma (20), a resident of Ambala in Haryana, and paraglider pilot Krishan Gopal (24) of Bhatkaral village in Kullu district.
Whereas paraglider pilot Krishna Gopal son Mani Ram village Bhatkaral post office Shirad district Kullu aged 23 years was seriously injured but this young man also died in Zonal Hospital Kullu. The police have handed over the bodies to the relatives after conducting post-mortem of both the bodies.
The paraglider is said to have fallen from a height of about six thousand feet whereas the tourist youth crashed to his death on the spot. Negligence is also clearly visible in this accident.
A paragliding accident had also occurred in November 2019 when a tourist had died.
Sanjay Dutta, an engineer by qualification but is a journalist by choice.
He has worked for the premier new agency Press Trust of India and leading English daily Indian Express.
With more than a decade of experience, he has been highlighting issues related to environment, tourism and other aspects affecting mountain ecology.
Sanjay Dutta lives in a village close to Manali in Kullu valley of Himachal.
