Paragliders stuck on high mast light for two hours rescued in Kerala

May 30, 2023

The officers also summoned the high mast light operator and asked him to bring the light down, which helped in lowering the duo from 70 feet to about 50 feet.

Published: 08th March 2023 07:17 AM | Last Updated: 09th March 2023 01:26 PM | A+A A-

The paragliding instructor and a tourist who got trapped on a high mast light pole at Papanasam, Varkala in Thiruvananthapuram |Express ​

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A paragliding instructor and a female tourist from Tamil Nadu had a brush with danger after they got stuck on a 70-feet-tall high mast light while paragliding at Papanasham near Varkala on Tuesday.

The instructor Sandeep, 30, from Uttarakhand, and the tourist Pavithra, 28, a Coimbatore native, were stuck atop the mast light for about two hours after their parachute got entangled on the pole. The two ended up crashing into the high-mast light reportedly after the wind suddenly changed its direction.

The Fire and Rescue Services personnel, who were summoned to the spot by the onlookers, failed to execute any moves at first as they did not own any equipment that could bring the two down safely. They immediately spread a safety net underneath the high-mast and put mattresses on it so that injuries could be prevented if the duo fell from the pole.

The officers also summoned the high mast light operator and asked him to bring the light down, which helped in lowering the duo from 70 feet to about 50 feet. The two, who were laboriously holding onto the pole, could not cling further and fell on the safety net casted wide below. The two were rushed to a nearby hospital. However, no injuries were reported.