Himachal Pradesh: 30-year-old Maharashtra tourist dies after falling while paragliding in Kullu

A tourist from Maharashtra died on Sunday after falling while paragliding in Himachal Pradesh's Dobhi region in the Kullu district. The deceased was identified as Suraj Shah from Satara district.

Shah's safety belt gave way when he was in the air which led to him falling to the ground below, according to reports.

Shah and the paragliding pilot were rushed to hospital where he was declared brought dead. The pilot is undergoing treatment.

Shah had gone to Manali with his friends on a vacation.

Gurdev Sharma, the senior superintendent of police in Kullu, stated that the police were informed that a person had fallen in the Dobhi area from a paraglider that was flying at a very high height.

"A tourist died in the accident. Now the post-mortem of the mortal remains of the tourist will be conducted on Sunday. The relatives of the deceased have also been informed. Police is probing the cause of the accident and the culprit will be found in the matter.

Paragliding pilot booked

"A probe has been launched and a case has been registered under Sections 336 and 304A of the Indian Penal Code against the pilot," Police Officer, Gurudev said.

The Himachal Pradesh high court outlawed adventure sports, including paragliding, in January of this year after taking strict note of the 12-year-old Bengaluru boy's death from an accident near the Bir Billing paragliding site.

A technical committee was to be established by the high court to oversee all adventure activities in the state.

At the time, it was discovered that many operators' registrations were invalid and that the majority of the equipment utilised by adventure sports operators had not satisfied the standards specified by the technical committee.

Only operators who could meet all the criteria were permitted to begin operations in April. Many local operators disregard the weather and wind speed while flying illegally from unapproved locations. Some also used old equipment as second-hand equipment are available at a cheaper rate.

Published on: Sunday, December 25, 2022, 04:48 PM IST