Austrian Paraglider Rescued from 14,000 Feet in Himachal’s Dhauladhar Range

Austrian paraglider Jakob Kremer, who had gone missing after taking off from Billing in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district on Monday morning, was rescued on Tuesday from a height of around 14,000 feet in the Dhauladhar range near Chhota Bhangal valley.

The rescue operation was carried out by a team from the Bir Billing Paragliding Association (BPA) early Tuesday morning. According to officials, Kremer had taken off from Billing but did not land at Chaugan, prompting the association to launch a search operation in the higher reaches of Dhauladhar on Monday evening.

This was the second paragliding incident reported in the area within two days.

Briefing reporters on Tuesday, BPA president Anurag Sharma said that once the team was informed that the Austrian pilot had failed to land, a helicopter-assisted search operation was launched. Kremer was last spotted near Dehnasar, in the Chhota Bhangal region.

The search was suspended on Monday evening due to poor visibility but resumed on Tuesday morning with helicopter support. The aircraft located Kremer at the same spot where he had been last seen, and he was safely rescued before being taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.

In a separate incident, Canadian paraglider Megan Elizabeth died after her glider crashed near Himani Chamunda. Her body was recovered from a deep gorge on Monday.