DHARAMSHALA: A paraglider from Poland was stranded in Dhauladhar hills in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh after a mid-air collision with another paraglider, officials said on Monday.Efforts to airlift the paraglider, who was identified as Andrew Babinski, failed due to tough terrain on Monday, they said.Babinski got stranded in Dhauladhar hills on Sunday after colliding with another paraglider mid-air, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM), Baijnath, D C Thakur told PTI.An attempt to rescue him on Monday using a chopper failed due to tough terrain.The land search party will soon reach the spot, the officer said.Babinski is in touch with paragliding organisers and the local administration, according to the officials.Meanwhile, an Australian paraglider participating in the Paragliding World Cup 2024 in Kangra’s Bir Billing suffered a sprain in his leg before takeoff on Sunday.”Australian paraglider David Snowden had a sprain in his leg before takeoff and did not fly. He was rushed to the hospital for an X-ray and is fine now,” Billing Paragliding Association president Anurag Sharma told PTI.The eight-day Paragliding World Cup 2024 commenced on November 2 and 94 paragliders, including seven women, from 26 countries are participating in the event.As part of safety measures, two helicopters, seven health teams with ambulances, and six rescue and retrieval teams led by experts from the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Mountaineering Institute in Manali are on standby for the event, Sharma said.Last week, two foreign paragliders crashed to death in Himachal Pradesh.On Tuesday, a Belgian paraglider died after colliding mid-air with another paraglider in Bir Billing as his parachute failed to open after the collision.On Wednesday, solo paraglider Dita Misurcova (43) crashed into the mountains near Marhi in Manali after she lost control of the glider due to strong winds.
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