A Belgian paraglider’s death in Bir-Billing four days ago on Tuesday raised a serious question mark around the safety measures taken by the state government for the Paragliding World Cup 2024 scheduled to begin on November 2 in Kangra.
A day after the death of a Belgian paraglider, another paraglider from the Czech Republic was killed in Himachal Pradesh's Manali after she crashed into the mountainside on Wednesday, officials said.
Two paragliders have died in two days in Himachal Pradesh just days ahead of the Paragliding World Cup 2024 commencing in Bir-Billing has become a matter of great concern.
The Himachal government pushing for adventure sports in the state without keeping a check on safety aspects has long been an issue of debate.
In the last two years, 10 paragliders, mostly free fliers, have been killed in the hill state, in which Bir-Billing accounted for the maximum number of casualties, while several paragliders also crashed in Kullu district.
Given the strong, stable air currents, especially “thermals” which help in lifting the paragliders, Bir-Billing is the most desired place for paragliding, almost known as a “paraglider’s paradise.”
The flights can last for 15 minutes to six hours, covering as much as 272 km. The height recommended for the sport is 8,000 feet above sea level.
Anurag Sharma, president of the Bir-Billing Paragliding Association (BPA), said, "Winds and the thrill to go towards the peaks have led to crashes in Bir-Billing and most of the fatalities are attributed to free-fliers.”
He continued, “About 300-400 free-fliers come to Bir-Billing every year. Foreign paragliders who have undergone advanced training try their flying skills here and at times, meet with accidents."
"In foreign countries, choppers are available to immediately rescue someone. Here it takes two days to get a chopper. Immediate rescue efforts are important for saving lives," Sharma added.
The Special Area Development Authority gives permission to free-fliers to take part in the sport provided they furnish their insurance documents, visa and the licence issued by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), officials said.
According to reports, Vinay Dhiman, Deputy Director, Tourism, Kangra, said chances of accidents go up when free-fliers venture into high-risk zones or inner valleys with little knowledge of the topography and local wind conditions.
"We are in the process of documenting the thermals in the Bir-Billing area with the help of experts to reduce the probability of accidents while flying," he said, adding that the Belgian paraglider died as his reserved parachute did not open after the crash.
On Tuesday, Feyarets, a paraglider from Belgium aged above 60 years, was killed after he collided with another paraglider in mid-air and crashed in a forest near Bir-Billing.
In April, a 54-year-old woman from Noida died after crashing in the Dhauladhar ranges. She was a regular flier at Bir-Billing.
In October 2023, a Russian, a Polish and an Indian were killed in a week while paragliding.
Another woman tourist from Hyderabad was killed in February after she fell from a height while paragliding in Dhobhi village in Kullu.
In December 2022, a 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra was killed after falling from hundreds of feet following a technical failure during paragliding in Dobhi. In the same month, a 12-year-old boy from Bengaluru died in an accident near the Bir-Billing paragliding site.
Many times, local operators fly illegally from non-approved sites without caring for the weather or wind speed. These operators also use second-hand equipment, said a local.
The paragliders fly with a device to send distress and crash-landing alerts to the operators, but the GPS-enabled devices connected with a satellite give a vague location (a range of 50 to 100 metres), which could be critical in saving lives.
A proposal to install special towers in high mountains to pinpoint the crash site in case of an accident is in the pipeline, said Avinash Negi, director, of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali.
Meanwhile, 75 paragliders from 32 countries have been registered for the week-long World Cup commencing in Bir-Billing on November 2. A total of 160 had applied.
For safety and rescue, seven ambulances and 10-12 vehicles with 36 people trained in rescue operations would be deployed and a chopper kept on standby, Sharma said.
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