Outfitter arrested after fatal paragliding accident » Explorersweb

It is still unclear how Brazilian Rodrigo Raineri died in a paragliding accident in Pakistan last week, but the consequences are chaotic.

The local expedition outfitter was arrested, and Pakistani expedition members are campaigning for his release. The outfitters are pointing the finger at the expedition leader Antoine Girard from France, who is denying responsibility.

Rodrigo Raineri from Brazil. Photo: Rodrigo Raineri

There are several versions and no official report yet on how and why 55-year-old Raineri died in a cross-country paragliding accident. However, 24 hours after the accident, local media reported that Raineri did not have a permit to fly. Shigar Deputy District Commissioner Waliullah Falahi told Dawn.com that the deceased “had started the adventure from a mountain in Askole (and that he) did not have a permit for the activity.”

On his social media, Raineri mentioned that he would be teaming up with XC pilots Antoine Girard and Veso Ovcharov. Read the post below. However, Raineri clarified: “Each of us has a satellite tracking device, everyone decides what they want to do, but we are a closed team and ready to go if someone needs help/rescue.”

Girard’s role

Antoine Girard is one of Pakistan’s most experienced cross-country pilots. In 2016 and 2021, he flew over Broad Peak. This year, he planned to repeat the feat and fly over K2 as well. He was listed as expedition leader, but as he explains on his website 8000Paragliding, his role is only to organize logistics and share his experiences about high-altitude flying and Pakistan.

“Everyone has to act autonomously in flight and on the ground and take their own responsibility,” he explains. “Under no circumstances will you be instructed or be under my responsibility.”

Outfitters in prison

Two days later, Ali Porik, owner of Jasmine Tours and vice president of Pakistan Association of Tour Operators (PATO), announced that Ali Muhammad Saltoro, owner of Alpine Adventure Guides (one of Pakistan’s better known tour operators), had been arrested following the accident. Porik forwarded this letter to ExplorersWeb and asked us to make it public.

Letter from Pakistan Tour Operators Association.

Ali Porik explained the situation. The paragliding team led by Antoine Girard had planned to make a cross-country flight from Goro-II, a camp along the trek to K2. To do so, they needed a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the local authorities.

Since Goro II is several days’ walk from a road, Alpine Adventure Guides applied for the NOC and issued the team a trekking permit – required for the advance into Baltoro – trusting that the NOC would be granted by the time the paragliders reached their launch point at Goro II.

The route to K2 Base Camp on Baltoro starts in Askole and the day camps are marked. Map: Monkeystale.ca

Started early

However, for some reason, part of the group set off from near the village of Askole before the scheduled date. So the accident did not occur at Goro-II, but further down the Baltoro.

We asked Girard for his perspective. He claimed that the note issued by PATO was “80% false” and complained about “a lot of false information and rumors that have been spread in the media.”

“The investigation is ongoing and I am not allowed to speak,” Girard added. However, he sent a text message with Cross country The magazine was sent from Concordia via WhatsApp on July 9. Here is part of the communication:

On July 4, the weather was good. All members decided to fly. I instructed Rodrigo, Walid, Colleen and Romano not to go beyond Paju, as the upper part of Baltoro requires more experience… The Askole/Paju part does not pose any particular danger. The plan was safe and conservative for all members. We learned about the accident on the morning of July 5. We immediately contacted Ali (Saltoro) and he told us to stay in Concordia until he solved the problem.

The descent to Skardu takes five or six days without phone or internet and we don’t want to be accused of disappearance. We wanted to clarify the situation first and then go down on foot if the authorities request it.

We are shocked to hear of this and would like to clarify the situation.

We had numerous discussions with the agency about the permits. They said we had permission to fly where we flew. Agency porters even accompanied us to the takeoff and helped some pilots take off.

No one is responsible for the accident. When we fly, the responsibility lies with ourselves.

Ali Muhammad Saltoro, owner of Alpine Adventure Guides. Photo: LinkedIn

Waiting for clarity

Cross country noted that after the accident, two of the paying pilots aborted the flight, while others continued on to Concordia. They also state that Giraud and Ovcharov were instructed by the authorities to stay at Concordia, where there is a Wi-Fi connection, in order to be reachable by the authorities.

Ovcharov said Cross country He plans to return to Skardu on Wednesday and will help to clarify the facts and secure the release of Ali Muhammad Saltoro.