Himachal: 67-year-old Belgian paraglider dies in mid-air collision

Himachal Pradesh: Belgian paraglider Fairets (67) died after colliding with another paraglider mid-air near Billing this evening. Fairets was a free flyer and had come to participate in the International Paragliding World Cup Championship to be held in Bir-Billing from November 2 to 10. Anurag Sharma, president of the Bir-Billing Paragliding Association (BPA), told The Tribune that the two paragliders collided mid-air soon after taking off from Billing. He said the BPA came to know about the tragedy in the afternoon and reported the matter to the Bir police station. BPA volunteers along with the police rushed to the spot but the body of the paraglider could not be retrieved from the dense forest yet. Earlier in the day, a paraglider got stuck in high voltage electricity transmission lines near Bir but managed to land safely. Sharma said that despite the best efforts of the BPA and SADA, such accidents are still occurring. He said, “If paragliders follow safety norms properly, the number of accidents can be reduced drastically.”