GURUN: Two men who took off from Gunung Jerai on a paraglider around noon today were killed after wind conditions suddenly changed.
The wind changes caused the paraglider to slam into rocks before getting caught on trees on a steep slope in the hilly area.
Mohd Hazlan Ismail, 32, from Kuala Lumpur and Liang Chong Kee, 52, from Kuala Ketil, Kedah died at the scene due to severe head injuries.
Mohd Hazlan, a policeman attached to the Simpang Empat police station in Perlis, was a paragliding instructor with the Indra Kayangan Paragliding Club while Liang, his student, was a sub-contractor.
A witness who did not want to be identified said sudden gusts of wind caused their paraglider to be unstable, leading the pair to go into a nosedive into the cliff.
A paraglider himself, he said the victims were the last two to take off after six others had successfully done so.
Kedah Fire and Rescue assistant director of operations Nazri Zakaria said they were alerted at 12.53 pm and a 30-member rescue team arrived at the scene at 1.09pm.
He said the team was only able to bring the bodies down at 3.25pm as the paraglider got entangled in trees at a height of about 50 metres.
Nazri said the bodies were sent to the Sultanah Bahiyah Hospital in Alor Setar.
He also advised paragliding enthusiasts to notify the police and his department before embarking on paragliding activities for a quick response in cases of untoward incidents.
They should also check on weather conditions because of their unpredictability in hilly areas, he added. - Bernama
