South Korean paraglider falls to death near Panchgani

Mumbai: A 45-year-old South Korean professional paraglider lost his life when his lider crashed during an event near Panchgani in Maharashtra’s Satara district, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place on Tuesday evening.

The deceased Sang Teak Oh came to India on a tourist visa. He came to Wai on February 10. According to the Satara police, on Tuesday evening Sang Oh took off from Rajpuri near Panchgani, the famous hill station located in the Sahyadri mountain ranges in the western Maharashtra. However, he strayed the course and descended into forest areas.

The police officer said, “As per the information received by us, the glider after taking off from Rajpuri, strayed away and slid down into the forest areas.” He said a rescue team present at the event rushed to the spot where Sang Oh’s glider collapsed. “They found Sang Oh with serious injuries and rushed him to a hospital in Wai, where he succumbed to his injuries,” said the officer.

Sang Oh’s body was handed over to the Korean embassy after post-mortem. Satara superintendent of police Pankaj Deshmukh said Sang Oh’s last rites will be performed in Wai as his family members have given their consent.

Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders — a lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure.

A Mumbai based firm had organised the paragliding event. The police officer said that the police have registered a case against the event firm and arrested its event manager Vistas Kharas for causing death by negligence.