A 22-year-old British tourist tragically lost his life in a paragliding accident after the parachute malfunctioned during a flight in Fethiye, Turkey, on Wednesday morning. The tourist was flying from the 6,500-foot Babadag mountain, accompanied by a 29-year-old pilot, when the incident occurred around 11:45 AM.
According to local media reports, shortly after takeoff, the parachute failed, causing both individuals to fall thousands of feet. They crashed onto the rocky terrain below. The pair were declared dead at the scene after other paragliders nearby raised the alarm. As a result, authorities temporarily suspended paragliding flights in the area.
Turkish officials have launched an investigation into the cause of the crash. Experts are expected to examine the crash site and the paragliding equipment involved. The bodies of the victims have been transported to a local morgue for identification.
While this incident is not the first fatality at this well-known paragliding location, investigators have noted that the death rate is low in comparison to the high volume of flights. A 2023 study published by the Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine found that out of 241,420 paragliding flights from the region, only 44 resulted in documented accidents.