More than 20 members of the Hong Kong Paragliding Federation will undertake a search around Lantau this morning for a paraglider blown off course by strong winds yesterday afternoon.
The missing man, named as Chung Yuk-wah by Apple Daily, was among a group paragliding at Pak Kung Au at about 2pm yesterday afternoon when they were hit with sudden gusts of strong wind.
At least three other paragliders who were also blown off course managed to land and were later rescued.
However, Chung, a member of the Hong Kong Paragliding Federation, did not return.
Hong Kong Paragliding Federation coach Kit, who spoke to Coconuts HK briefly before heading to join the search, said the missing man, also known as was Patrick, was a “very experienced” paraglider.
Information from The Observatory’s website shows a sudden spike in wind on Lantau island between 2pm and 3pm yesterday, with speeds of more than 50km/h.
The abrupt squall made it difficult to pinpoint a likely area where the paraglider landed, Kit said, who said members of the federation would search the area by foot.
“A wind cloud formed up very quick and very strong behind the mountain, so once the wind cloud formed up, it sucks a lot of air from the bottom, so the air on the ground will be drawn to replace the air that was sucked up,” he said.
“So he was in the area where the replacing air would blow him backwards so he’s supposed to be behind the mountain… but it’s hard to tell. I was not there but I checked the [weather] report and the winds certainly picked up three times stronger, so it could be very very strong.
“He could have gone anywhere, so we have to search the whole area so we need more people.”
A spokesman from the government’s Information Services Department said the fire department and Government Flying Service (GFS) had also joined in the search for the missing man.
