In a tragic incident, a woman paraglider from Uttar Pradesh’s Noida was killed shortly after she took off from Bir-Billing hills in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh. The deceased has been identified as 56-year-old Ritu Chopra, wife of a former Indian Air Force (IAF) officer Ashutosh Chopra.

The incident took place on Sunday, according to a report by The Time of India.

As per the report, shortly after taking off, Ritu’s paraglider crashed in the nearby hills, following which Ashutosh raised an alarm and a search team was formed to locate her.

The party located her she was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

“She (Ritu) had an experience of nine years in paragliding. On the day of the accident, we were both flying. I was slightly above her. Suddenly, a huge ball of turbulent air hit her and then me. Because of my height at that point, the turbulence became docile. Her entire glider collapsed and she fell on a mountain slope. We were at a height of around 9000 feet,” TOI reported quoting Ashutosh as saying.

The couple, who were experienced paragliders, had arrived at Bir-Billing, a paragliding site famous across the world. Chopras were married for 34 years and were residents of Noida’s sector 25.

Quoting a member of a local paragliding association, TOI reported that Ritu, an experienced paraglider, flew solo, unlike joyrides where experts accompany fliers.