A 26-year-old paraglider died on Sunday near the lake of Loudenvielle in the town of Cazaux-Frechet (Hautes-Pyrénées), after his sail was torched, we learned on Monday from the gendarmerie.
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"Hikers who saw the sail flaring immediately triggered the rescue," said Major David Sicilia of the High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon (PGHM) of Hautes-Pyrénées.
A helicopter comprising two PGHM personnel and a doctor from the Mountain Emergency and Resuscitation Service (SMUR) went to the scene, but the rescuers could only note the death of the pilot.
Sunday around 3:20 pm, the young Toulousain who was a confirmed pilot "made a deadly return to the ground at 1400 m altitude on a slope of the Penne d'Aude after taking off from the Loudenvielle site", added the same source.
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