German tourist, 61, dies in paragliding crash at Lake Garda, the fourth fatality in the region since June
A 61-year-old German man lost control of his paraglider after launching from Monte Baldo near Malcesine on Monday shortly after 5 p.m. and died at the scene.
A 61-year-old German tourist died on Monday after crashing his paraglider on the eastern shore of Lake Garda. The man launched from an elevation on Monte Baldo, a mountain range with more than a dozen peaks above 2,000 metres, shortly after 5 p.m. local time. For reasons that remain unclear, he lost control of his glider and fell, sustaining injuries so severe that he died at the crash site. Italian police have opened an investigation into the cause of the accident.
A popular launch site
The area around Malcesine is a favoured destination for paragliders from across Europe, prized for its panoramic views of the lake and the reliable thermals that often permit flights lasting half an hour or longer. The main launch point sits just a few metres from the Malcesine cable car station. From there, pilots descend roughly 1,700 metres in altitude to a landing zone by the lake. Authorities have not released details about the victim's exact hometown in Germany.
A deadly weekend in the Alps
The Lake Garda fatality follows two fatal paragliding accidents in the Alps over the preceding weekend. In the Austrian state of Tyrol, a 28-year-old woman from the German state of Hesse died after colliding with a tree. In Italy's South Tyrol region, an Italian pilot was killed during a tandem flight; his passenger, a 29-year-old German tourist, escaped unharmed.
Rising toll since early summer
Monday's death is at least the fourth paragliding fatality at Lake Garda since the start of June. Earlier incidents claimed the lives of a 37-year-old Swiss national and a 48-year-old German. Several other recreational pilots have been injured in separate accidents in the region over the same period, some of them seriously.
Investigation underway
Italian police are conducting a standard inquiry into the circumstances of Monday's crash. No further information about the victim's identity or the possible technical or meteorological factors behind the loss of control has been made public.
