Three foreign paragliders rescued from Kullu hills
Three foreign paragliders, including one woman, were today rescued from the higher reaches of the Lug valley and the Fozal area of Kullu district in a helicopter. They had taken off from Bir-Billing in Kangra district yesterday but were stranded in the Lug valley and Fozal hills.
According to information, Micheal Karnik from Australia, Barnard Craig Collins from New Zealand and Rosie Darewood from the United Kingdom after taking off from Bir-Billing had planned to land on the top of Fozal hills but they missed the track and got stranded. However, they were able to inform the authorities concerned about their locations with the help of their equipment.
Kullu SDM Vikas Shukla said that all three foreigners were stranded in the hills of the Lug valley and Fozal at an altitude of about 3,500 metre to 4,500 metre. He added, “The rescue operation was launched on Thursday evening with the help of a team of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports, Manali, which had requested for a helicopter.”
The SDM said that the state government arranged a private helicopter and the institute’s team and a foreign rescue expert were able to rescue all three paragliders in a daredevil exercise by evacuating one of them through a rope and porting him while hanging along with the rescue team personnel to the airport. He added that Barnard and Rosie had suffered back injuries while Micheal escaped with minor injuries.
He said that the paragliders were provided first-aid at the airport and were sent to a Kullu hospital in ambulances.
