Himachal Pradesh mishap: Paraglider crashes during takeoff near Dharamshala; Gujarat tourist dies

KULLU: A 25-year-old tourist from Gujarat died when his tandem paraglider crashed during take-off from an unapproved site near Dharamshala Sunday evening. The tandem pilot was gravely injured in the accident near Banghotu, located above the popular Indrunag paragliding site.The victim, Satish, was a resident of Ahmedabad. He had come to Dharamshala with his cousin, police said.On Jan 18 this year, a 19-year-old tourist from Gujarat, Bhaveshawar Khushi, died in a paragliding accident at Indrunag. In April 2024, a woman paraglider died similarly in Kangra district's Bir-Billing Hills. While these two crashes happened in well-known adventure sports sites, Satish, like most tourists, wouldn't have known that Banghotu wasn't approved for paragliding yet.Sunday's accident occurred around 4.30pm. Following the crash, Satish and paraglider pilot, Suraj, were taken to the zonal hospital in Dharamshala around 5-6km away, and then to Tanda GMCH, a further 15km on, where Satish - who had suffered multiple injuries - succumbed."The victim's parents have been informed, and they are arriving in Dharamshala today. We have registered a case and are investigating the matter.

Any action will be taken upon the completion of the inquiry," Kangra additional SP Hitesh Lakhanpal said Monday.Kangra tourism officer Vinay Dhiman said the operator would face action, including possible suspension of licence, for using a paragliding site that the district administration's technical committee had not yet notified, pending forest department clearance. "We are inquiring into the matter," Dhiman said.The accident occurred two days before the annual ban on paragliding activities in Himachal Pradesh. Adventure activities, including paragliding and rafting, are temporarily suspended in the state for two months, from July 15 to Sept 15, due to monsoon.Suresh Thakur, founder of Billing Paragliding Association, an umbrella body of paragliders that has been holding paragliding world cups in Bir-Billing, said: "In majority of paragliding crashes, tandem pilots are at fault. But never has any action been taken against them. They continue to fly and put others' lives at risk."