Kullu paragliding mishap: man on his honeymoon dies after falling in gorge

In a shocking incident, a 27-year-old man from Chennai, who was on his honeymoon in Kullu was killed during paragliding near Dobhi region of Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. As reported by Kullu SP Gaurav Singh, the man, identified as Arvind from Chennai, went for paragliding but his harness loosened during the flight, and he fell and died on the spot.
According to the police, Arvind wanted to enjoy a joyride while his newlywed wife waited for him on the grounds. He took a paraglider for tandem flight. Apparently, the pilot also got severely hurt during the landing and is currently admitted in a hospital. The police said that the pilot had a valid licence for tandem flying. However, a case has been registered for further investigation.

How safe are these activities?

The tragic incident has once again raised the same question, how safe are these activities? Excited tourists take up adventure activities such as river rafting, river crossing and paragliding, among others without checking the safety mark. These accidents happen because most of the time operators are not certified or lack expertise and carelessness.
There’s a technical committee that issues licences to conduct tandem flying but most of the operators ignore the norms, go ahead and hire untrained pilots without verifying the validity of their licences. Also, all the equipment needs to go through equipment check annually, after which licenses are issued to carry out such adventure sports. However, it has been found that a number of operators operate without valid licence.

Past accidents

Last year, a man died in Solang Valley of Manali in similar circumstances during paragliding. The incident soon became the talk of the town after the boy’s father raised an online petition to provide emergency healthcare and trauma care services at the site.