CHANDIGARH: Bir-Billing, the internationally renowned paragliding destination in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, witnessed another tragic accident on Tuesday evening when a 26-year-old tourist from Greater Noida was killed after falling from a tandem paraglider during a recreational flight. A case has been registered by the Himachal Pradesh Police against the pilot.
The deceased has been identified as Shubham Dobliyal, a government petroleum firm employee, who was reportedly flying with a local tandem pilot, Vinay Kumar, when the incident occurred barely six minutes after take-off from Billing. He was holidaying in the hill state with his sister and three cousins.
Sources said that Dobliyal fell from the paraglider and landed in a dense forest near the designated landing zone. The pilot, Kumar, however, managed to land safely and subsequently informed other pilots that his passenger had fallen down. A search operation was launched, and the victim's body was recovered from the forest late in the evening.
Meanwhile, the Himachal Pradesh Police has registered an FIR against pilot Kumar at Bir police station on charges of causing death due to negligence. The exact circumstances leading to the tragedy are yet to be established, said a police officer.
Manish, cousin of the deceased, said that other family members had also undertaken paragliding flights and learnt about the tragedy only after landing, when the pilot informed them about the incident.
Kangra Superintendent of Police Kulbhushan Verma said that a detailed investigation would be necessary to establish the actual cause of the accident. "As of now, the possibility of the passenger's safety belt becoming loose or snapping during the flight, as well as other factors, was being investigated," he said.
Kangra Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa said the administration was examining all possible aspects of the incident. "The passengers undertaking tandem flights place their complete trust in the pilot, making adherence to safety procedures particularly important. In solo paragliding, the paraglider is solely responsible for his or her safety. The incident is being examined from all angles," he said.
A paragliding instructor at Bir-Billing described the incident as a possible case of 'free fall', in which either the passenger or the pilot falls from the paraglider before it reaches the landing site. "Such incidents could occur if safety harnesses were not properly fastened or if someone tampered with the safety belts during the flight. The possibility of the passenger having accidentally or deliberately opened the safety belt also needs to be examined," he added.