NRI Paraglider From Australia Dies In Himachal Pradesh After Crash

An Australian man of Indian origin died in a crash during paragliding in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday night.

The paraglider, Sanjay KR Devarkonda, went missing after he took off from Bir Billing paragliding site yesterday and a rescue operation was launched to find him.

His body was found after six hours of search near Joginder Nagar area and has been sent for post-mortem.

A Spanish paraglider Jose Lewis, who had been missing since five days, was found in Palampur yesterday.

Mr Lewis had taken a flight from Bir Billing in Kangra on Saturday and was reported missing since then. A rescue team was constituted by Baijnath SDM to find the paraglider. Food, warm clothes and medicines had been air-dropped, before he was airlifted.

In another incident, paraglider of Singaporean descent, Kok Choonk Na, was found dead in the Billing hills. His body was recovered by the rescue team.

A number of foreign and domestic paragliders have swarmed the valley in the run-up to the Paragliding Pre-World Cup to be held in Bir Billing from November 27. Over 160 paragliders are expected to turn up for the three-day event.