Manali (HP), Oct 26 (PTI) A proposal to install special towers in high mountains to spot the crash sites is in the pipeline, an official said on Saturday, days after three foreign paragliders were rescued from the mountains in Kullu district, following a crash landing.
Avinash Negi, the Director of Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS), Manali, said that there is a need for more safety features to safeguard the people indulging in adventure sports particularly, Paragliding.
This comes after a 10-member team from ABVIMAS safely rescued three foreign paragliders who had taken a flight from Bir-Billing in the Kangra district on Thursday. They lost their way due to the strong winds and crash-landed in the mountains in the Kullu district.
The paragliders fly with a device to send distress and crash-landing alerts to the operators but the GPS-enabled devices connected with the satellite give vague locations (50-100 metres) which could be critical in saving lives, said an expert.
“A proposal to install special towers in high mountains to pinpoint the crash sites in case of accidents is in the pipeline,” Negi said.
Meanwhile, the three foreign paragliders, including a woman, identified as Micheal of Australia, Gabriel Greg Collins of New Zealand and Rosie Darewood of the United Kingdom who were stuck in the mountains of Himachal Kullu district were safely airlifted on Friday, an official said.
Karnik and Rosie suffered injuries in the incident, they said.
However, this is not the first case of a crash landing. In February, a woman tourist from Hyderabad was killed after falling from a height while paragliding in Dhobhi village in Kullu district.
In December 2022, another, 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra, Suraj Sanjay Shah, died after falling from hundreds of feet following a technical failure during paragliding in the Dobhi area of Kullu.
A total of 130 paragliders from 50 countries are expected to compete in the Paragliding World Cup 2024 which is being organised in Bir-Billing in Himachal’s Kangra district from November 2 to 9. PTI COR BPL HIG HIG
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