A 47-year-old Bulgarian paraglider, on a solo expedition, was killed while a 63-year-old British pilot suffered injuries and was rescued after their paragliders crashed near Rising Star Peak in Dharamshala, police on Monday said. As an immediate measure, the Kangra district administration imposed a three day ban on solo and cross-country paragliding expedition.

The incident took place Sunday afternoon when the two foreign nationals, who had taken off separately from Bir-Billing paragliding site, encountered strong winds, officials said.

Police identified the deceased pilot as Maksim Valentinovich Gavrilichenko, a Bulgarian national who arrived in India on a tourist visa on October 7. The rescued paraglider was identified as Stephen Antony Purdie.

Superintendent of Police, Kangra, Kulbhushan Verma said both pilots took off for solo paragliding flight from Bir Billing. “Due to air pressure and (strong) wind conditions, the Bulgarian pilot’s paraglider went out of control, leading to the accident.…