Man dies after falling down hillside in paraglider launch

A MAN died after falling as he helped a friend to launch a paraglider, police said yesterday.

The 21-year-old, who has not been named, was with a group of friends who were paragliding in the Glen Fruin area, near Loch Lomond, when the accident occurred at around 9pm on Monday.

It appears the man was pushing a friend to help him get airborne when he slipped and fell down the hillside, suffering fatal injuries.

Emergency services were called, but the man, from the Glasgow area, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Strathclyde Police said a full report would be sent to the procurator-fiscal.

A rapid response unit, an ambulance and an air ambulance were scrambled to the Shantron Hill area.

A Royal Navy Sea King helicopter was also summoned from HMS Gannet, at Prestwick, after ambulance crews found it difficult to reach the man, who was wedged in a gully.