South Korean, Maharashtra Tourist Die In 2 Paragliding Accidents In A Day

Two men died in two separate paragliding incidents in the country within 24 hours. A 50-year-old South Korean man died after falling 50 feet to the ground while paragliding in Gujarat's Mehsana district, while a 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra fell to his death during paragliding in the Dobhi area of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh, news agency PTI reported. Both accidents were reported on Saturday.

The Korean man, Shin Byeong Moon, was killed after the canopy of his paraglider failed to open properly, because of which he lost balance and fell from a height of about 50 feet. While Suraj Sanjay Shah (30) of Shirval village in Maharashtra's Satara district fell hundreds of feet, possibly due to harness failure during a tandem flight, according to eyewitnesses. 

Shin Byeong Moon's friends rushed him in a semi-conscious state to a private hospital, where he died during treatment, according to PTI. According to doctors, the man suffered a cardiac arrest due to the shock of falling.

In Himachal Pradesh, where Suraj Sanjay Shah died, there have been several deaths and injuries during tandem paragliding, due to which all adventure sports activities in the state were banned by the state's High Court in January this year. The court's order came after a 12-year-old boy from Bengaluru died due to an accident near the Bir Billing paragliding site.

The court had ordered the setting up of a technical committee to inspect the adventure activity sites. Most of the equipment was found to be not approved by the technical committee, and the registration of many operators was faulty. Only those operators were allowed in April who could fulfil the required parameters.