A man and a woman, who were paragliding at the Papanasham beach in Varkala, a remote area of Thiruvananthapuram, were left petrified when their parachute failed to land in the intended location. Instead, it became entangled with an electric pole, which had several high-voltage lights placed on top, leaving them stranded over 50 feet above the ground.

As per the news agency PTI, the stranded duo was left hanging from the electric pole for almost two hours before being rescued. Since the fire department did not possess a ladder that could reach the required height, the rescue team decided to lower the columns of the high mast to bring them down safely. As a safety measure, mattresses and nets were positioned at the base of the pole. The incident, which was captured on camera, has now gone viral on social media.

The police confirmed that following the rescue operation, the 28-year-old woman named Pavithra, from Coimbatore, and the paragliding instructor Sandeep were safely brought down after the electric pole was lowered. They were then taken to Taluk Hospital in Varkala for treatment and are currently in a stable condition, as per police reports. Reportedly, after they started the paragliding the wind direction shifted and intensified ten minutes into the flight, causing the restraining ropes to become taut and restricting movement. As a result, a section of the glider detached and plummeted to the ground. Pavithra recounted that she clung to the post of the high mast light after becoming entangled in it. She informed the police that she had felt that death was looming over her throughout the ordeal.

The police have taken three individuals in custody in connection with the incident. The arrested individuals include the paragliding trainer, Sandeep, who is originally from Uttarakhand, as well as the employees of the paragliding company, Shreyas and Prabhudev.

Sadly, this is not the first time that paragliding incidents have resulted in disastrous accidents. In December of last year, two separate incidents occurred within a 24-hour period, leading to the deaths of two men. A 50-year-old South Korean man lost his life after falling from a height of 50 feet during a paragliding in Gujarat's Mehsana district, while a 30-year-old tourist from Maharashtra met with a similar fate while paragliding in the Dobhi area of Kullu district in Himachal Pradesh.