A search is under way in Chitral for a paraglider missing since Thursday afternoon (Dawn).
Who and where
Asif Mehmood, 55, from Wah Cantt, was one of six paragliders who took off from Zaini Pass, near Terichmir in the Hindu Kush, on Thursday afternoon.
What happened
The weather deteriorated about an hour into the flight. Five of the group, including Zahiruddin Baber, president of the Paragliders Association Upper Chitral, landed safely.
Mehmood continued towards Chitral city. “The association remained in radio contact with Mehmood for about one-and-a-half hours after take-off, but his signal subsequently went offline.”
He is believed to have been over the Barum hills of Oveer valley.
The search
Rescue 1122 began immediately. Operations stopped overnight for darkness and poor visibility and resumed on Friday morning, with local volunteers and district administration assisting across mountainous terrain.
Why the terrain is the problem
Terichmir is the highest peak in the Hindu Kush, and the valleys below it are steep, forested in places and largely without roads. A canopy on a slope is close to invisible from the air and can take a ground party a day to reach.
That is also the reason for cautious optimism rather than none: a paraglider that comes down in trees or on a snowfield may be intact and simply unreachable, and unreachable is not the same as lost.
What is not established
No sighting, wreckage or signal has been reported. No distress call was received before contact was lost, and no cause has been established for why Mehmood continued when the rest of his group landed.
[Image: Dawn/File]
