THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Three members of a paragliding firm were arrested on Wednesday in connection with a paragliding accident in which a tourist and her instructor got entangled in a high-mast lamp pole. The two were left hanging for nearly two hours before being rescued. A sudden change in the direction of the wind reportedly caused the accident.
The three, including the instructor, are Sandeep, 30, from Uttarakhand; Shreyas, 27, who hails from Ottoor near Mambazhathara; and Prabhudeva, 29, from Vakkom. The arrests were made after the tourist, Pavithra, filed a complaint stating that the instructor paid her no heed despite her request to cancel the ride just after take off.
She also alleged that two staff of the paragliding firm had tried to take her signature on a blank paper claiming that they were hospital staff.
They had sought her signature to make it appear that the tourist had given her consent to do paragliding even after learning the risks involved.
The Fire and Rescue Services personnel, who were summoned to the spot by the onlookers, failed to execute any moves at first as they did not own any equipment that could bring the two down safely. Soon, they spread a safety net underneath the high-mast and put mattresses on it so that injuries could be prevented if the duo fell from the pole. The officers also summoned the light operator and asked him to bring the light down, which helped in lowering the duo from 70 feet to about 50 feet.