TWO foreign paragliders have died after colliding in mid-air shortly after taking off in the Sierra de Cadiz.
The victims, a Lebanese man and an American woman, crashed at around midday on Monday at the Levante take-off site, on the southern slope above Algodonales.
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According to sources close to the case, the two pilots collided while already in flight.
The Andalucian emergency service 112 received the first calls just before 12.30pm, reporting a collision between two paragliders and asking for urgent medical help for two injured people.
At the time of the calls, one of them was receiving CPR.
The 112 control room alerted the 061 medical emergency service, the Guardia Civil, Algodonales Local Police, air traffic control and the rescue coordination centre.
A medical helicopter and a Guardia Civil rescue helicopter were sent to the scene.
Despite the quick response, the site was difficult to reach, and medics could only confirm that both paragliders had died at the scene.
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Algodonales town hall has declared two days of official mourning, and the village’s paragliding schools suspended all flights for the rest of the day as a mark of respect.
It is one of the worst paragliding accidents in the Sierra de Cadiz, and the first in the area in which two people have died at the same time.
The Sierra de Cadiz is one of Spain’s top destinations for paragliding, and its flying conditions draw pilots from around the world.
Algodonales in particular is a magnet for the sport, with several companies offering flights, including tandem trips for first-timers.
Just over a month ago, the village hosted the Spanish Paragliding Championship, which brought together more than 120 pilots from Spain and abroad.
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