Two die in separate paragliding accidents in gap of less than 24 hours

In two separate incidents reported over the weekend, two tourists lost their lives in paragliding incidents in India.

A 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra fell to his death during paragliding in the Dobhi area of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh on Saturday while a 50-year-old South Korean man died after falling 50 feet to the ground while paragliding in Gujarat's Mehsana district, police said on Sunday.

The victim from Maharashtra was identified as Suraj Sanjay Shah (30) of Shirval village in Maharashtra’s Satara district. He was visiting Manali with his friends. According to eyewitnesses, the victim fell hundreds of feet possibly due to harness failure during a tandem flight.

Superintendent of Police, Kullu, Gurdev Sharma said on Sunday that police received information that a person had fallen from a paraglider that was flying at a very high altitude in the Dobhi area.

“The pilot is safe but the passenger (tourist) succumbed to injuries on the spot," he said "A case of negligence act has been registered under sections 336 (act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 304A (causing death by negligence) of the IPC Act,” the SP said.

Meanwhile, in Gujarat, Shin Byeong Moon was killed after the canopy of his paraglider failed to open properly, because of which he lost balance and fell from a height of about 50 feet, inspector Nikunj Patel of Kadi police station said.

The accident took place at around 5.30 pm on Saturday at a school ground in Visatpura village near Kadi town of the district.

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The victim's friends rushed him in a semi-conscious state to a private hospital where he died during treatment, he said.

According to doctors, the man suffered a cardiac arrest due to the shock of falling, the official said.

"Shin was on a trip to Vadodara. He and his Korean friend were visiting their acquaintance, who is into paragliding, at Visatpura village near Kadi town. On Saturday evening, Shin and his Korean friend went paragliding," Patel said.

"The man fell from a height of around 50 feet after the canopy failed to open properly," he said.

A case of accidental death was registered at Kadi police station and the victim's relatives and friends in Vadodara and the Korean Embassy were informed about the incident, he said.

A process was underway to send the man's mortal remains to his home country, the official said.

Due to increasing injuries and deaths during tandem paragliding in Himachal Pradesh, all adventure sports activities in the state were banned by the state's High Court in January 2022.