Although the causes are not yet known, the authorities started from the first report of the emergency made by the pilot who was driving this paraglider in Calarcá, Quindío.
After the accident that occurred this weekend and that claimed the life of 27-year-old Daniela Barrios Higuita while she was paragliding in Calarcá, Quindío, the authorities are carrying out investigations to clarify the facts surrounding this incident.
The young woman traveled from Dosquebradas, Risaralda to practice this extreme sport that has become a tourist plan in the region. For this purpose, he hired the services of the company Quindío al Límite, owned by pilot Raúl Carreño, who mentions on his social networks that he has 27 years of experience as a paraglider and that he has other pilots who have more than 12 years of experience in this sport. .
Daniela Barrios, 27 years old.
Photo:Calarcá Civil Defense / Social networks
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The first hypotheses that the Calarcá authorities used are that it had occurred, apparently, because the chair where the young woman was riding had slipped causing a fall from a height of approximately 200 meters onto a forested area. This version was based on the pilot’s call when he reported the emergency to the police and rescue agencies.
However, some paragliding experts have explained that it is unlikely that this would have happened.
“The paraglider seats are very thin and it is practically impossible for them to break or come off, what could happen is that the pilot had not attached something to the passenger or that the passenger himself wants to stop or get out, this can happen.” do,” said a paraglider pilot who constantly flies over this same area.
Another expert paraglider told this media that, if the chair had slipped, the rescue agencies must have found it when they found the young woman’s body.
However, the commander of the Calarcá Fire Department, Captain Javier Arconde Rodríguez, informed this medium that the chair was not found next to the young woman.
He died after falling out of the paraglider chair
Photo: Taken from social networks
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“She fell into trees and broke the branches and then fell to the ground. The body suffered many traumas, including dismemberment. “We didn’t find the chair, we only found her helmet,” said the fire commander.
The mayor of Calarcá, Sebastián Ramos, pointed out that the version that the Mayor’s Office has was the one delivered by the pilot. “What we know is what the pilot mentioned to the police commander when he called him, that the girl got loose from the paraglider. What happened, that will be determined by the investigation.”
The president indicated that the company complied with the legal documents. “These clubs and companies have authorization from the Civil Aeronautics to use the air spectrum, it is up to us to verify that they comply with the legality of the commercial establishment, at the time of verification they comply, it is a company of many years and with very experienced pilots. It pains us that this has happened because it is a company that has provided this service for many years.”
Ramos announced that recreational or tourist practice will be temporarily restricted in his municipality while the causes of the accident are clarified and for the moment only professional pilots who have a license will be able to do so.
This is the second accident that has occurred in less than 6 months in this sector. Last October, a pilot and his passenger – a minor – became entangled in high-tension cables.
Daniela Barrios.
Photo:Social networks
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“The previous case was of a pilot with a minor who were left hanging on high-tension lines, we had to go over the area with a drone and it was damaged, we had to ask for reinforcement from the Pereira firefighters so that they lent us equipment because at that time we were not We had a way,” said the Calarcá fire commander.
And he added that this is the second death recorded in the area. In January 2017, Venezuelan paraglider Leonardo Rodríguez died in this same area and his passenger was injured.
“With this there are already two deaths in the same area, they came from the same place, there have been about 5 accidents that we have attended in recent years, two deceased and in the others we have had a lot of trauma to access and rescue people. For us it is very worrying because it is an area that is difficult to access and we do it, but with the equipment we have.”
Coffee Axis Editorial.