South Korean killed in a glider crash near Panchgani

PUNE/SATARA: A 45-year-old South Korean national was killed after his glider crashed near Panchgani in Satara district on Tuesday. 

A Mumbai based event organiser has been arrested by police for allegedly organising the paragliding camp without requisite permission and without adequate safety precautions. The deceased, who has been identified as Sang Taek Oh, a professional glider. He had come to India on a tourist visa. The incident happened while practising for the paragliding event.

According to police, Oh took off from the campsite in Rajpuri near Panchgani and his glider crashed within a few minutes later few kilometres away in the jungles near Abhepuri village in Wai. He sustained severe injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Superintendent of Police (Satara) Pankaj Deshmukh said that the organiser Vistas Kharas (49) has been arrested for an offence under section 304 (a) (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). 

The district sports authority had denied permission on February 4, after the organiser failed to submit the required documents. Kharas had applied for permission to organise the camp for 90 persons including 65 foreigners, from February 14 to 17.

Police said that Oh’s body was handed over a representative from the South Korean embassy. The last rites were performed in Wai with consent from his family members.