Safety aspects back in focus as Belgian paraglider dies in Himachal's Bir-Billing

Safety aspects in paragliding have come back into focus following a Belgian paraglider's death in Bir-Billing on Tuesday, four days ahead of the Paragliding World Cup 2024 at this popular destination for the sport in Himachal Pradesh's Kangra district.

The thrust of the Himachal Pradesh government on promoting adventure sports notwithstanding safety aspects, especially in paragliding, has long been a cause for concern.

Ten paragliders, mostly free-fliers, have been killed in the hill state in the last two years. Bir-Billing accounted for the maximum number of fatalities, while several paragliders also crashed in Kullu district.

Bir-Billing is considered a paragliders' paradise owing to strong, stable air currents, especially "thermals", which help in lifting the paragliders, allowing them to take long flights towards Dharamshala and Manali.

Paragliding flights can last for 15 minutes to six hours, covering as much as 272 km. The height recommended for the sport is 8,000 feet above sea level.

"Winds and the thrill to go towards the peaks have led to crashes in Bir-Billing and most of the fatalities are attributed to free-fliers," Anurag Sharma, president of the Bir-Billing Paragliding Association (BPA), told PTI on Wednesday. "About 300-400 free-fliers come to Bir-Billing every year. Foreign paragliders who have undergone advanced training try their flying skills here and at times, meet with accidents."

"In foreign countries, choppers are available to immediately rescue someone. Here it takes two days to get a chopper. Immediate rescue efforts are important for saving lives," Sharma added.

The Special Area Development Authority gives permission to free-fliers to take part in the sport provided they furnish their insurance documents, visa and the licence issued by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), officials said.

Speaking to PTI, Kangra deputy director of tourism Vinay Dhiman said chances of accidents go up when free-fliers venture into high-risk zones or inner valleys with little knowledge of the topography and local wind conditions.

"We are in the process of documenting the thermals in the Bir-Billing area with the help of experts to reduce the probability of accidents while flying," he said, adding that the Belgian paraglider died as his reserved parachute did not open during the crash.

On Tuesday, Feyarets, a paraglider from Belgium aged above 60, was killed after he collided with another paraglider mid-air and crashed in a forest near Bir-Billing. In April, a 54-year-old woman from Noida died after crashing in the Dhauladhar ranges. She was a regular flier at Bir-Billing.

In October 2023, a Russian, a Polish and an Indian were killed in a week while paragliding. Another woman tourist from Hyderabad was killed in February after she fell from a height while paragliding in Dhobhi village in Kullu.

In December 2022, a 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra was killed after falling from hundreds of feet following a technical failure while paragliding in Dobhi. In the same month, a 12-year-old boy from Bengaluru died in an accident near the Bir-Billing paragliding site.

Many times, local operators fly illegally from non-approved sites and without caring for the weather or wind speed. These operators also use second-hand equipment, a local said.

The paragliders fly with a device to send distress and crash-landing alerts to operators, but the GPS-enabled devices connected to a satellite give a vague location (a range of 50 to 100 m), which could be critical in saving lives.

A proposal to install special towers in high mountains to pinpoint the crash site in case of an accident is in the pipeline, said Avinash Negi, director, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) in Manali.

Meanwhile, 75 paragliders from 32 countries have been registered for the week-long World Cup commencing in Bir-Billing on 2 November. A total of 160 had applied.

For safety and rescue purposes, seven ambulances and 10-12 vehicles with 36 people trained in rescue operations would be deployed and a chopper kept on standby, Sharma said.