Andhra Tourist Dies In Paragliding Accident In Himachal's Kullu

The accident took place at Raison, around 20 km from Manali on Tuesday, when Tadi Mahesh Reddy (32) was trying to take off.

A 32-year-old tourist from Andhra Pradesh lost his life in a paragliding accident in the Kullu district of Himachal Pradesh, police said on Wednesday, as reported by news agency PTI.

The accident took place at Raison, around 20 km from Manali on Tuesday, when Tadi Mahesh Reddy (32) was trying to take off. A sudden gust of wind disrupted the glider's flight, causing it to descend instead of ascend. Soon after the incident, he was taken to a hospital for treatment but succumbed to the serious injuries.

Initially, Reddy was rushed to Harihar Hospital at Bhuntar but after his health worsened, he was moved to the Medical College in Mandi, where doctors pronounced him dead. Further, the postmortem of the body was conducted on Wednesday, and an investigation into the case is underway, police added.

Foreigner Dies During Paragliding In Manali

This incident follows a similar tragedy in October 2024, when two foreign paragliders died in separate accidents in the state, ahead of the Paragliding World Cup 2024 in Kangra. One Belgian paraglider died after a mid-air collision, and another, Dita Misurcova (43), crashed in Manali due to strong winds.

The first accident involved solo paraglider Dita Misurcova (43), who crashed into the mountains near Marhi in Manali. Preliminary reports suggest she lost control of her glider due to strong winds. 

She was swiftly transported to a hospital in Manali, where she was declared dead. Misurcova, an experienced paraglider, had been practicing the sport for six years.

The Belgian paraglider was killed after colliding mid-air with another paraglider in Bir-Billing as his parachute failed to open after the crash, while 50-year-old Russian national Aleksei Kozlochkov died due to a suspected heart attack in his hotel room in Bir.

The accident occurred when the two paragliders, who took off separately, collided mid-air leading to the death of Belgian paraglider Feyaret, while the Polish paraglider sustained injuries. Feyarets was a free-flying paraglider in his mid-sixties, officials said.