An Australian man of Indian origin died in a paragliding crash in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi on Wednesday, ANI reported. A rescue operation was launched after the man, Sanjay KR Devarkonda, was reported missing hours after he took off from the paragliding site in Bir Billing.

Sub-divisional magistrate Vikas Shukla said Devarkonda may have lost control of his paraglider, Hindustan Times reported. Authorities have informed the Australian embassy of his death.

The rescue team found his body after a six-hour operation near the Joginder Nagar area. His body has been sent for a postmortem.

The incident follows the death involving Singaporean paraglider Kok Choonk Na, who was found dead in Himachal Pradesh’s Dhauladhar mountains on October 23. The 53-year-old had taken off from Bir Billing on Monday and was in the state to participate in the Paragliding World Cup Championship being organised from October 27.

On Wednesday, Spanish paraglider Jose Lewis, who was reported missing six days ago, was found in Palampur. Lewis had also taken off from Bir Billing on October 20. Two paragliders, identified as a Russian and a Latvian, sustained injuries during mishaps after taking off last week, the Hindustan Times reported.

Paragliders from around the world have thronged the state to attend the event to be held in Bir Billing from October 27. Over 160 paragliders are expected to participate in the event.

Ranvijay, a paragliding supervisor at Bir said, they register flyers after examining their flying license, insurance and other documents, The Times of India reported. “The fee for registration is Rs 500 for a week,” Ranvijay said.