British paraglider, 65, crashes into tree and dies while on holiday in France

 
Death: The man died after crashing into a tree while paragliding. FILE PICTURE

An investigation was today under way into the death of a British paraglider after he crashed into a tree in France.

The 65-year-old hit the tree shortly after taking off at 1pm yesterday from Talloires, near Lake Annécy in the east of the country.

His wife and son had been watching him and were with him as he died.

The man, whose name has not been released, was conscious following the accident and managed to speak to a friend but by the time paramedics arrived 15 minutes later he was having a heart attack.

A police spokesman from Annécy said: “Paramedics quickly released him from the tree but he had had a heart attack. They tried to resuscitate him but it was too late.

“We do not know why he died. It is possible he had internal injuries. There will be an autopsy tomorrow.

“He hit the tree shortly after take-off. His managed to speak to his friend for almost 10 minutes but then fell unconscious. His wife and son arrived quickly.”

An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the accident.

The man, who was on holiday with his family and some friends, took off from the Planfait site in Talloires.

Talloires is one of the leading paragliding centres in Europe with as many as 500 people a day taking off during the peak season.

Antoine Desvalles, owner of the nearby Residence Florimontane hotel, said the paraglider had crashed into the tree only yards from the take-off point.

“I saw the helicopter which came and rescued the person who was in the tree. I don’t know exactly how it happened but it was only 20 metres from the take-off.

“You could see the paraglider wing was in the trees and there were lines hanging down.”

The town mayor, Jean Favrot, who is a doctor, said: “After taking off it seems he became dizzy. We cannot say if he first had a heart attack or something like that, or if he died from the trauma.”

The incident happened a few miles from where four people, including three members of a British family, were shot dead.

Saad al-Hilli and his wife Iqbal, from Claygate, Surrey, her mother Suhaila al-Allaf and French cyclist Sylvain Mollier were killed by a mystery gunman in September last year.

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