Stranded nearly 150 feet above ground in Mehad village after glider gets entangled in electricity lines; incident comes amid a series of crashes, foreign pilot fatalities and rescue emergencies involving flyers from Bir-Billing
Munish Sood
Mandi: Himachal Pradesh’s growing concerns over the safety of paragliding have resurfaced after a pilot got trapped in high-tension electricity wires at Mehad village, around five kilometres from Mandi town, on Tuesday. The pilot’s glider became entangled in the overhead power lines, leaving him suspended nearly 150 feet above the ground and triggering a challenging rescue operation.
The incident has once again brought the risks associated with paragliding flights in the region into focus, particularly as Mandi and neighbouring districts have witnessed a series of accidents involving pilots who took off from the internationally renowned Bir-Billing paragliding site.
Following the incident, the local administration, police and fire brigade rushed to the spot. Electricity supply to the affected area was immediately disconnected as a precautionary measure. SDM Mandi and other police officials reached the location to oversee the rescue efforts.
With the pilot stranded at a considerable height, rescuers are facing difficulties in bringing him down safely. Mattresses and tarpaulins have been spread on the ground as precautionary arrangements, while rescue personnel are working to reach the stranded flyer. His condition and the outcome of the operation were awaited at the time of filing this report.
Mandi witnesses back-to-back paragliding emergencies
The latest incident comes against the backdrop of two recent paragliding accidents in Mandi district involving foreign pilots who had taken off from Bir-Billing.
On November 1, Austrian pilot Nicholas Thomas, 50, was injured after his paraglider crashed in the Chhanang area of Gumma in Jogindernagar subdivision. He had undertaken a solo flight from Bir-Billing but reportedly lost control amid strong winds before crashing into agricultural fields.
Earlier, on October 29, Russian woman pilot Ksenia, 41, sustained a fracture in her right leg after her paraglider crashed at Phuladhar in Padhar subdivision. She too had taken off from Bir-Billing and was subsequently shifted to Jogindernagar for treatment.
These incidents followed a fatal accident in Kangra district in which a 47-year-old Bulgarian paraglider, Maksim Valentinovich Gavrilichenko, died after crash-landing near Rising Star Peak above Khanyara in October. His British flying companion was rescued safely. The accident had prompted authorities to temporarily suspend solo paragliding flights from Bir-Billing amid concerns over fluctuating air pressure and adverse weather conditions.
Two other foreign pilots from Austria and Poland were also rescued from separate locations in the Dhauladhar mountain range during the same period after their gliders crash-landed.
Bir-Billing’s accident record raises serious questions
Bir-Billing, located in Kangra district, is counted among the world’s prominent paragliding destinations and attracts professional flyers and adventure enthusiasts from India and abroad. The site hosted the Paragliding World Cup in 2015 and has earned international recognition for its flying conditions and spectacular mountain landscape.
However, its growing accident record has become a major concern.
According to a report published by The Tribune in November 2024, around 30 paragliding accidents had occurred in five years, claiming the lives of 14 pilots. The report highlighted the death of a Belgian pilot in a mid-air collision with another paraglider near Bir-Billing, while a Polish pilot had to be rescued from the mountains.
In another major tragedy in March 2022, a tourist from Ghaziabad, Akash Aggarwal, and a ground assistant, Rakesh Kumar, lost their lives during a take-off accident at Bir-Billing. The pilot, Vikas Kapoor, was injured. The accident occurred after the assistant reportedly became entangled in the paraglider’s ropes, causing the glider to lose balance.
Earlier, in November 2021, 30-year-old Sandeep Chaudhary from Kangra died after falling from a paraglider during a tandem flight when his safety harness reportedly came loose. A pilot who had gone missing after taking off from Billing in January 2021 was found dead in the Dhauladhar range nearly five months later.
The concerns continued into 2025. A 27-year-old Canadian solo paraglider, Megan Elizabeth, died after crash-landing in the Dhauladhar mountains in October that year. She had taken off from Billing but lost her route in the difficult mountain terrain. Another Austrian paraglider was rescued from the region during the same period.
A report published by The Indian Express in October 2025 said the Bir-Billing flying zone was proposed to be divided into green, orange and red zones to identify safer and high-risk flying areas. The decision followed a series of accidents in which 18 paragliders had reportedly lost their lives over the preceding five years.
Safety, weather monitoring and rescue infrastructure under scrutiny
The repeated accidents have raised questions about pilot experience, weather assessment, flight monitoring, equipment standards and emergency rescue arrangements.
A major concern highlighted in previous media reports has been the absence of adequate specialised rescue infrastructure, particularly for pilots stranded in inaccessible high-altitude areas. Delays in arranging helicopters and coordinating rescue operations have also emerged as serious challenges.
While Bir-Billing continues to attract international recognition and contributes significantly to Himachal Pradesh’s adventure tourism economy, the repeated emergencies underline the need for stronger safety enforcement, proper weather monitoring, regular equipment inspections and a more effective rescue mechanism.
The latest incident in Mandi, where a pilot is suspended in mid-air after becoming entangled in high-voltage electricity wires, adds another alarming chapter to the growing list of paragliding emergencies in the state.
For a destination that has established itself on the international adventure tourism map, ensuring that every flight is backed by adequate safety arrangements is becoming as important as promoting the sport itself.
