New Delhi: A 27-year-old woman tourist from Maharashtra’s Pune and her 26-year-old paraglider instructor from Nepal died when the rope snapped and they crashed into a ravine while paragliding at Keri Plateau in Goa on Saturday evening, police said on Sunday.
Police identified the deceased as Shivani Dabale and the operator Suman Nepali. According to the cops, Dabale was visiting Goa with a friend. They added that the paraglider took off from Keri Plateau with the tourist and was flying at a low altitude when the accident occurred. It reportedly plunged into a ravine soon after it took off from a cliff.
Police said that one of the ropes of the paraglider broke, and this caused it to crash into different rocks. The deceased sustained multiple fractures and later succumbed to their injuries. An ambulance was called at once, and both were rushed to the Goa Medical College (GMC). However, the doctors there declared both brought dead.
Mandrem MLA Jit Arolkar reportedly told Times of India that he has written to the tourism department, urging them to halt paragliding activities at Keri Plateau due to its dangerous nature. He also mentioned that the Keri Panchayat had passed a resolution to stop such activities. Arolkar pointed out that there are four paragliding operators on the plateau.
Owner of paragliding company booked
The Mandrem police station have reportedly registered a case against the owner of the paragliding company, Shekhar Raizada. He has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita for endangering human life, a PTI report said.
Superintendent of police (SP) Tikam Singh Verma told TOI that Raizada did not obtain permission from the relevant authority, and allowed his paraglider pilot to carry out the paragliding activities with the tourist.
Verma stated that despite knowing that his actions could endanger human life, Raizada was led by the desire to earn. Raizada intentionally allowed Dabale and the Nepali paraglider to carry out the activity from a height without a valid license, which ultimately caused their deaths, he added.
