On Sunday, Max Kent McGowan (64) from Minnesota, United States, got stranded in the mountain near Uttarala village. (Source: Pixabay)An American paraglider, who was stranded in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district at an altitude of 4,220 metres since 5 pm on Sunday, was rescued and evacuated on Tuesday using a chopper, Kangra Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Kumar said.
On Sunday, Max Kent McGowan (64) from Minnesota, United States, got stranded in the mountain near Uttarala village in the Baijnath sub-division of Kangra district. However, he could not be rescued then due to bad weather.
“Today (on Tuesday) at 11.54 am the paraglider was rescued and safely evacuated from the mountain near Uttarala using a chopper,” Kumar said. Adding that one local youth, Rahul was “paradropped” from the chopper to rescue McGowan who was then airlifted.
McGowan was paragliding over the Uttarala region on Sunday when after experiencing decreasing air pressure on one side of the parachute, he lost control and landed on fresh snow over a mountain near Uttarala village.
With the aid of a radio, the paraglider then informed the manager of a hotel in Bir, Kangra district about the situation. The hotel owner in turn informed the local administration, and the administration sprung into action to rescue the paraglider. According to the local administration, Kumar was paragliding in the region without taking the required permission.
The rescue and evacuation operation got delayed since chopper could not reach the required area due to bad weather.
After being “safely evacuated”, McGowan was taken to government healthcare centre in Bir, Baijnath for medical examination, Kumar said. “McGowan is currently under medical examination,” he said.
