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New Delhi: In a shocking incident reported from Himachal Pradesh, a paragliding pilot crashed soon after taking off with a tourist at the Bar Billing adventure sports site. The adventure sports site is a major tourist attraction in Kangra. However, of late several accidents have been reported from here. In October this year a Canadian paragliding pilot was killed after falling from a height and before that, in July a tourist from Gujarat lost his life, while enjoying the adventure sports.
The deceased was identified as pilot Mohan Singh, who hailed from Barot, which is around 30 kilometres from Bar Billing. The pilot was reportedly flying with a woman tourust, when the accident happened. While the pilot died, the tourist managed to survive the accident with injuries.
The tragic accident sent shockwaves across the paragliding community and left tourists feeling unsafe. Following the accident, all paragliding pilots in Bar Billings decided to observe Saturday as a no fly day, to honour their dead colleague.
The accident highlights the unsafe working conditions of paragliding pilots, questions safety standards and also raises questions about whether proper precautionary steps and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being followed at the paragliding sites in India.
The authorities also said that there should be proper screening of passengers, who wish to enjoy the paragliding activity in the hills. They must be screened for weight limit and any medical condition. They said that indemnity forms alone are not sufficient for the people to take part in paragliding activities.
According to a paragliding pilot, the tourists are charged anywhere between Rs 2,500 to Rs 3,000 per flight. During the peak tourist season, a paragliding pilot might manage 3 to 4 flights in one day. But during lean periods, they get only 1 flight a day or may be 1 in 2 days, he added.
The earnings of the pilots can be anything between Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 per flight. However it depends entirely on the inflow of tourists.
The recent accident has left many tourists shocked. One of them who was in Kangra and had come to enjoy the adventure sports, said that he was shocked by the accident and would have to rethink his plans.
