Polish paraglider stranded in upper Kangra rescued

A Polish pilot stranded in the highlands of Kangra district was rescued on Tuesday, the third day of the search operation.

Andrew Babinski, a solo paraglider pilot, was stranded in the Dhauladhar Hills on Sunday after colliding with another paraglider in mid-air. He communicated with his colleagues and his insurance company provided a helicopter to rescue him.

Baijnath SDM Devi Chand Thakur said, “The pilot was rescued and airlifted early Tuesday morning by helicopter. He was injured and was admitted to a hospital in Palampur.”

On Monday, an attempt to lift the paraglider through the air failed due to difficult terrain. The helicopter flew twice but was unable to pick him up as it was unable to land on site. However, a rescue team reached him and transported Babinski to a location where he could be airlifted.

Last week, two foreign paragliders fell to their deaths in Himachal. On October 29, Belgian paraglider Patrice Feyaerts died when he crashed after a mid-air collision with another pilot shortly after takeoff in Bir Billing. His reserve parachute did not open after the collision. Later on Wednesday, solo Czech paraglider Dita Misurcova crashed into the mountains near Markha in Manali after she lost control of her glider due to strong winds.

World Championship missions canceled due to poor visibility

Meanwhile, on the third day of the Paragliding World Cup held in Bir Billing, the scheduled mission for the participants was canceled due to adverse weather conditions and poor visibility.

The task set by the technical committee was to cover a land distance of 148 kilometers. However, shortly after takeoff, all pilots were ordered to return due to deteriorating visibility.

“All the pilots took off, but after a while the mission had to be canceled. The pilots landed safely after a free flight,” a BPA spokesman said.