Shimla: A 27-year-old Canadian paraglider, who went missing in the forest ranges of Dhauladhar minutes after she took her solo flight, was found dead. Another 47-year-old Austrian paraglider, however, was rescued from the high mountains in the same area in Himachal Pradesh, reports said from Baijnath, next to the international paragliding site of Bir-Billing,205 km from Shimla, the state capital.
Both paragliders, who were trained solo riders, had flown in separately from the international Bir-Billing paragliding site in the Kangra district, but they suddenly encountered emergencies at different locations.
The deceased Canadian paraglider was identified as Megan Elizabeth, while another rescued Austrian paraglider was identified as Jacob.
“Megan’s glider crashed-landed in the upper reaches of the Dhauladhar range. With no communication from her for several hours, fears of a mishap grew. A rescue operation was launched, and on Monday, rescue teams discovered her body,” senior officials of the Kangra district administration said.
Furthermore, the rescue was undertaken after teams received an SOS about the Austrian paraglider stranded at an elevation of approximately 3,302 meters in the mountains of Barot Valley in Mandi.
Details reaching Shimla said Elizabeth had taken off from Billing and was expected to land at Chogan. However, Elizabeth was not familiar with the topography of the Dhauladhar region, which caused her to lose her route and crash near Talan Jot, north of the Himani Chamunda temple, at an altitude of about 3,900 meters.
President of the Billing Paragliding Association, Anurag Sharma, said the Association had taken help from climbers and volunteers from the Bir Billing Paragliding Association (BPA).
Rahul Singh, a member of the rescue team, was the first to be air-dropped into the area on Sunday evening. He reached the crash site later that night and found the paraglider unresponsive.
Elizabeth had likely died due to exposure to extreme cold and injuries sustained during the landing on rocky terrain.