Two foreign paragliders stranded in the Dhauladhar mountain range in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district were rescued on Sunday, officials said.
The two solo flyers, Sebastian from Austria and Adam Bisztyga from Poland, reportedly crash-landed at two different locations in the mountain ranges after taking off from Billing, prompting a rescue operation. Both failed to reach their designated landing sites. Sebastian was rescued from above Kareri Lake and taken to Pathankot. He also sustained injuries. Bisztyga was rescued from the mountain range above Palampur. Bir-Billing, renowned for its excellent thermals and scenery, attracts thousands of paragliding enthusiasts every year. Known as the paragliding capital of India, it ranks among the top sites in the world for the adventure spot.
Officials said Sebastian took off on October 22, while Bisztyga took off on October 23.
“Rescue attempts were made on Saturday as well, but had to be called off due to poor weather and low visibility,” he said. Baijnath SDM Sankalp Gautam said both paragliders were rescued using an army helicopter on Sunday morning.
She had taken off from the Bir-Billing paragliding site. In November, two foreign paragliders who took off from Bir-Billing were rescued after crash landings. In November 2024, a Polish paraglider who was stranded in the higher ranges of Kangra was rescued on the third day of the search operation.
Earlier this year, two solo paragliders were rescued from the Dhauladhar mountain range in April. In October last year, a Canadian solo paraglider was killed after crash-landing in the range. An Austrian paraglider was also rescued from the Dhauladhar range in October last year.
