Dharamshala: Missing Polish paraglider’s body airlifted after 10 days

Shimla/Dharamshala : The body of missing Polish paraglider Andrez, who took off from Bir and went missing near Dharamshala last month, was airlifted from Dhauladhar ranges in Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district on Thursday morning, officials said. Andrez had launched himself from Bir on October 23. The rescue operation ended after ten days, they said.

“The body was sighted on Tuesday but it could not be lifted due to tough terrain and cliffs despite several attempts by the local teams, police and SDRF, trekkers from mountaineering institute in Manali and other professionals,” Kangra Superintendent of Police Shalini Agnihotri told PTI.

“Two specialised units of the Army were requisitioned and an eight-member team, including five from the Army and three from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), travelled four kilometers on tough hills and airlifted the body to Yol near Dharamshala today,” she added.

Police said that the embassy and the deceased paraglider’s family members have been informed. Four Polish nationals began flying from Bir under the free flying category on October 23, and went missing near Dharamshala. The rescue teams of Kangra district located three out of the four foreigners and rescued them from the Indrunag area near Dharamshala on October 24, but Andrez was still missing due to which search operations were intensified.