Paraglider Falls to Death on Beach After Mid-Air Collision

A 47-year-old tourist lost her life on Saturday afternoon in Puerto Escondido, when she and another paraglider collided in mid-air and she fell to the sand from a startling height.

A short video clip of the incident was published by DailyMail, though be warned that it may be upsetting to some viewers. It shows a woman named Ursula Hernandez attempting to land on the beach, when another parascender hits her parachute coming from the opposite direction. The impact deflates her chute, and the sudden force from the opposite direction stops her momentum entirely. Hernandez falls straight down to the sand below.

Hernandez, a Mexico City native, was rushed to a nearby hospital, but she was shortly pronounced dead. The other parascender was not named, though the outlet reports that she was also on vacation in the resort. The other tourist had some injuries, but was able to get treatment.

The two of them had reportedly rented the parascending equipment from the same company, which had visitors sign a release form that absolves the company of any liability in the event of an accident like this.

Juan Perez, a journalist, was one of the people to post harrowing footage of the crash on social media. “Just before the Easter Holidays start, one person has died and another has been injured in an accident in Puerto Escondido,” he told the outlet. “I’m sure no-one will be held to account. No-one regulates these types of services.”

Puerto Escondido is a popular destination on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Located in the state of Oaxaca, it is a frequent retreat for Mexican tourists as well as ex-patriots and travellers from around the world. It is known as a great place for surfers.

Parascending is also known as parasailing or parakiting. It’s a common activity for daring tourists, especially in warm beach locales. It typically involves one or two people attached to a parachute getting towed behind a boat or other vehicle. The chute affords little control or steering to the rider, so it’s more of a ride along activity than a sport.

This isn’t the first time parascending safety regulations have been called into question. In 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board completed an investigation into the burgeoning industry, concluding that the activity was woefully under-regulated. The investigation, reported by CBS Miami, looked into eight reports of parascending or parasailing accidents, two of which took palce in Florida.