Sikkim: Two die in paragliding mishap: Sandeep Gurung and flyer Esha Reddy Sankepalli a tourist from Hyderabad

 Bodies of paraglider Sandeep Gurung and flyer Esha Reddy Sankepalli — a tourist from Hyderabad — were recovered from Lachung river after their glide fell into it

Esha Reddy Sankepalli.: File photo.

Rajeev Ravidas   |   TT  |  Siliguri   |   02.04.22  : Two persons, including a young tourist from Hyderabad, died during the course of a paragliding ride at Lachung in Mangan district of Sikkim on Friday.

The bodies of Sandeep Gurung, the paraglider from Resithang near Gangtok, and his tandem flyer Esha Reddy Sankepalli — a tourist from Hyderabad — were recovered from Lachung river after their glide fell into it.

A.B. Karki, the deputy commissioner of Mangan district, said the bodies were recovered with the help of the police and others.

Both the bodies have been sent for their autopsies.

Sandeep Gurung who fell to their deaths from their glider in Sikkim  on Friday.: File photo

“I can confirm the deaths of both the persons,” he told The Telegraph.

According to a police source, the duo took off in their flight at around 9:30 am from Lachung View Point.

However, in a short while their glide got accidentally entangled in a wire at Phaka, Lachung.

“Thereafter, they lost their balance and fell into the Lachung River. The duo was swept away by the fast-flowing currents of the river and then they both got stuck beneath a boulder on the riverbed downstream,” said the source.

Paragliding is a relatively new adventure sport in the north of Sikkim where the tourist hotpots of Lacheng and Lachung are located.

“Paragliding here started about three or four years back. The gliders takes off from a point called Thechan and lands on a flat place in the middle of Lachung,” said a local resident who wished not to be identified.

Sonam Norgay Lachungpa, the president of the Travel Agents Association of Sikkim, said the incident was unfortunate but that was the nature of adventure tourism.

“We would like to express our deepest condolences to the families of the two deceased. We are extremely sad over what happened at Lachung today,” he told this newspaper.