19-year old girl dies during a paragliding expedition

By Judy Jerono Grief has engulfed Iten, Elgeiyo Marakwet County, following the death of a 19-year-old girl who died during a paragliding expedition after falling down the rocky Elgeiyo escarpment in the area. The girl who had just sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations died after her glider-parachute collapsed and fell near Kessup village in Keiyo North sub-county. It is reported that the teenager lost her life while flying above Kessup area when her parachute developed challenges while up in the skies before coming down crashing where she fell on the rocks, sustaining serious injuries. Confirming the incident, Kessup Sub-location chief Cedric Changwony, the young girl started her paragliding at Kerio View in Iten town, running a few metres down the scenic cliffs of the Elgeyo escarpment, and then soaring high like eagles. The girl was rushed to a local health center by residents but was unfortunately pronounced dead upon arrival. Polices officers from the nearby Tambach station rushed to the scene and were later joined by their DCI counterparts from Iten. The deceased body was later taken to the Iten County referral hospital mortuary. It is not the first time such an incident is happening in the same area, in January 2018, two foreigners identified as Thomas Lednik, 46, from the Czech Republic and his trainee Kimberly Ann Pace from the United States of America died after their glider-parachute collapsed and fell near Kipka village in Keiyo North sub-county after the paragliders developed challenges while up in the skies before crashing. A week before the two lost their lives, another pilot experienced the same challenge where he died instantly where authorities asked paragliders to thoroughly scrutinize the erratic weather before beginning their expedition. Years before then, a 55-year-old German paraglider also lost his life after his parachute came down killing him on the spot. Gerd Schedler was paragliding with his colleague at Emis, Nyaru location in Keiyo south before the incident.