New Delhi: A paragliding pilot and a tourist died after the paraglider collided with a hill soon after take-off in Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday, news agency ANI reported. According to the report, the duo was in tandem flight when the accident occurred near Dobhi village of the Himachal district.
According to reports, the paragliding pilot lost control due to strong winds and harsh weather conditions during mid-flight.
After the paraglider collided with the hill, both landed hard on the ground and were immediately rushed to a hospital. The tourist was declared brought dead and the pilot succumbed to his injuries later.
The deceased have been identified as Aditya, a resident of Haryana and Kishan Gopal, the paragliding instructor.
According to Kullu Superintendent of Police (SP) Gurdev Chand Sharma, the Kullu police department has launched an investigation into the matter and have sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.
Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh tourism department has also formed a team to probe the incident, as per reports.
A tandem paraglider is designed to carry two people, the instructor and the passenger. The passenger is strapped into the harness right in front of an experienced pilot during the paragliding flights.
Earlier this year, two persons were killed and another was critically injured during a paragliding accident at Bir Billing in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. According to reports, the accident took place during take-off.
As per reports, the incident happened when the harness got entangled with the paragliding helper, the gliders got imbalanced and fell to death.