Himachal: Belgian paraglider killed after mid-air collision in Bir-Billing

Shimla: A Belgian paraglider was killed after colliding mid-air with another paraglider in Himachal's Kangra district, five days ahead of the Paragliding World Cup 2024 set to take place in Bir-Billing, police said on Wednesday.

Feyarets, a free-flying paraglider in his mid-sixties, had come to Bir-Billing for practice, ahead of the World Cup.

Although both paragliders took off separately, they collided mid-air on Tuesday. Feyarets crashed into the forest, while the other paraglider got entangled in trees and suffered injuries. He was later rescued.

Police said that Feyaret's body is yet to be recovered from the forest.

This incident follows another fatality on October 23, 2023, when Polish paraglider Andrez died during a solo flight from Bir-Billing.

Avinash Negi, Director of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali, had earlier emphasised the need for enhanced safety measures in adventure sports, particularly paragliding.

"A proposal to install special towers in high mountains to pinpoint the crash sites in case of accidents is in the pipeline," Negi said.

While paragliders use devices to send distress and crash-landing alerts, the GPS-enabled systems provide vague location data (within 50-100 meters), which can hinder rescue efforts, an expert noted.

A total of 130 paragliders from 50 countries are expected to compete in this year’s World Cup, scheduled from November 2 to 9 in Bir-Billing.