Varkala paragliding accident: 3 held

Three people were arrested on Wednesday in connection with the accident, in which a tourist and her paragliding instructor got entangled in a more than 50-metre tall high-mast lamp pole and were left hanging from it for nearly two hours before being rescued.

The arrested persons include a paragliding instructor and action was taken based on the complaint of the 28-year-old tourist hailing from Coimbatore in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, police said.

The mishap occurred at the Papanasam Beach in Varkala here on Tuesday.

The police and fire service personnel struggled for nearly two hours to rescue the paragliders whose glider got entangled in the high mast lamp pole due to a sudden change in wind direction.

According to police, the woman knew about the danger of flying into that area and had tried everything to stop the trainer from flying into Papanasam beach.

”We have registered an FIR against the trainer and two staff of the paragliding club based on a complaint from the victim. The club has a license to operate but flying is banned in the area where the accident occurred. They knew about the ban in this area but violated it,” an officer of Varkala police station, said.

As the Fire department did not have a ladder which was tall enough, the two were rescued after lowering the pole.