In a tragic incident, Canadian paraglider Megan Elizabeth (27) was found dead after her paraglider crashed in the Dhauladhar mountains near Dharamshala. She took off from Bir-Billing on October 18, and her body was recovered two days later after an extensive rescue operation by IIM and local teams
Representational Image. File Pic
In a very surprising and unfortunate incident, a Canadian paraglider, Megan Elizabeth (27), was found dead on October 20 after her paraglider crash-landed in the snow range of the Dhauladhar mountains. The incident happened near the North Indian hill town of Dharamshala, as reported by news agency ANI.
As reported by news agency ANI, the Canadian paraglider took off from the Bir-Billing paragliding site on October 18. Two days later, her body was recovered during a rescue operation conducted by the Indian Institute of Mountaineering, Dehradun, local climbers, and volunteers from the Bir Billing Paragliding Association (BPA).
The authorities and the reports further stated that the body of the Canadian-based paraglider was airlifted by helicopter. Additional Superintendent of Police Bir Bahadur, while talking to the media about this unfortunate incident, said that her body was handed over to her friends and cremated on October 21, after the post-mortem was conducted at Tanda Medical College, Kangra. The Additional Superintendent of Police further highlighted that the concerned embassy was informed, and all legal procedures were followed.
Speaking to the media about the accident, Bir Bahadur said that the Billing Paragliding site comes under the Police Station Bir. He explained that the Canadian paraglider had flown from the site on October 18, and while passing over the Triund area in the Dhauladhar mountains above Dharamshala, her paraglider crashed.
He added, "Her body was lifted by helicopter on the 20th, and after a post-mortem at Tanda Medical College, it was handed over to her friends. The embassy and her family were informed. It was an accidental death, and all necessary legal proceedings are being carried out," as cited by news agency ANI.
Emphasising the rescue operation, officials said that one of the rescue team members was dropped from a helicopter in the high hills of the Dhauladhar mountains and recorded a short video during the operation.
Megan Elizabeth was found dead in acute cold conditions, with injuries sustained during the crash landing on a rock at an altitude of 3,900 metres above sea level, reported ANI.
The Dhauladhar mountain range has seen multiple incidents involving foreign nationals in recent months, highlighting the risks of high-altitude adventures. Earlier, an Israeli national who went missing while trekking in the snow line near Dharamshala was found seriously injured on June 15 and shifted to Tanda Hospital for medical treatment.
Additional Superintendent of Police Hitesh Lakhanpal, referring to the Israeli national’s death, said that "the missing Israeli national has been found and is seriously injured. He is being moved to Tanda Hospital for medical treatment."
Lakhanpal added that “Vengrinovich was reportedly heading towards a glacier next to the Indrahar Pass trail, a high-altitude trek route in Himachal Pradesh. The District Disaster Management Authority received information about the missing trekker on June 9, following which police formed search teams with SDRF, local trekkers, and other support personnel.”
Despite the hard weather conditions, multiple teams were engaged in the intensive operation, including members of the district administration, the local trekking community, the Israeli rescue team, Israeli nationals, and friends of the missing person.
(With inputs from ANI)
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