A Russian paraglider who got tangled in high-tension electricity wires more than 100 metres above the ground in Himachal Pradesh's Mandi district was rescued on Tuesday after a three-hour operation, police said, according to The Hindu and PTI.
The pilot, Alexey, 48, had taken off from Bir Billing and got stuck in the wires mid-flight near Tandu. He sent pictures of his location to the Bir Billing Paragliding Association, which alerted the district administration and sent rescue teams.
The rescue
Teams from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Gawar Company carried out the operation together. Because of the risk of a fall, they laid nets and mattresses on the road below, and used machinery including a crane to reach him.
He was brought down safely and taken to the Zonal Hospital in Mandi, Sub-Divisional Magistrate Chander Prakash said. The reports did not say how he came to drift into the lines or whether he was hurt.
Background
The rescue followed a run of paragliding accidents involving foreign pilots who had flown from Bir Billing, The News Radar reported. On November 1, a 50-year-old Austrian pilot was injured when his paraglider crashed in the Gumma area of Jogindernagar after a solo flight from Bir Billing; on October 29, a 41-year-old Russian pilot broke her right leg in a crash at Phuladhar in Padhar subdivision.
In October, a 47-year-old Bulgarian pilot died after crash-landing near Rising Star Peak above Khanyara in Kangra district. After that accident, authorities temporarily suspended solo flights from Bir Billing over concerns about fluctuating air pressure and bad weather, according to the report.
Accounts of Tuesday's incident differ: The News Radar placed it at Mehad village, about 5 km from Mandi town, with the pilot about 150 feet up, while The Hindu and PTI said it was near Tandu and more than 100 metres above the ground.