Polish paraglider yet to be rescued as ops in Bir Billing enter Day 2

Although the rescue operation was underway, the efforts to airlift the paraglider failed due to tough terrain on Monday

The Polish free-flyer who is stranded in the higher ranges of Kangra district has not been rescued as the operation to trace him continued on Monday.

The Polish free-flyer who is stranded in the higher ranges of Kangra district. (File)

Andrew Babinski, a solo paragliding pilot, was stranded in the Dhauladhar hills on Sunday after colliding with another paraglider mid-air. Notably, he was not participating in the event. He was in communication with his colleagues and the chopper for his rescue is being provided by his insurance company.

Although the rescue operation was underway, the efforts to airlift the paraglider failed due to tough terrain on Monday.

Baijnath SDM Devi Chand Thakur said, “The chopper conducted sorties twice but we are not able to retrieve him so far as the chopper is not able to land at the spot where he was stranded. He could not be airlifted as well. It is inaccessible. However, the rescue team has reached him and he is being provided food etc. We believe that he might be retrieved on Tuesday now.”

Last week, two foreign paragliders had crashed to death in Himachal. On October 29, a Belgian paraglider, Patrice Feyaerts, lost his life as he crashed after a mid-air collision with another pilot shortly after taking off at Bir Billing. His reserve parachute failed to deploy after the collision.

Later, on Wednesday, a solo Czech paraglider, Dita Misurcova, crashed into the mountains near Marhi in Manali after she lost control of the glider due to strong winds.

Bir-Billing, the world’s second highest paragliding site, is ranked among the top paragliding sites of the world and attracts thousands of paragliding enthusiasts from across the world every year. However, the safety of paragliders has remained one of the prime concerns in Kangra as several deaths have been reported in recent years.

71 take to course at world cup

Meanwhile, on the second day of the Paragliding World Cup held in Billing, participants were tasked with covering a route spanning 66 km as measured by aerial distance and 93 km when considering the terrain.

The course included a 5-km stretch from Billing to Chauntra, followed by 12 kmfrom Chauntra to Phulladhar, 16 kmfrom Phulladhar back to Billing, 15 km from Billing to Bandla, another 15 km from Bandla to Hanumangarh, and a 2-km descent for landing from Hanumangarh.

A total of 71 participants from 23 countries took flight on the second day of the competition.