84-year-old man lost five fingers, suffered injuries in a
MARGAO
Like many a visitor, this elderly German couple had been regular visitors to the land of sun, sand and sea.
When 84-year-old Dieter Eichler with his wife Brunhild descended in the State on November 15 last to enjoy the holidays, little did they know that their tour would end on a tragic note. As the husband-wife duo are preparing to leave Goa for Germany, they would carry back with them the bitter memory as Dieter lost his five fingers and suffered hand injuries in an accident at Colva beach on November 24.
On an evening walk to Colva beach from a starred resort at Betalbatim, where the couple has been staying during their visit to Goa, a powered paraglider was taking off with a customer.
Wife Brunhild recalled that when they were walking on the waterfront, her husband kept his hands over his head to protect himself from the paraglider, but in the bargain lost five fingers and sustained injuries on his hand and forehead.
The lifeguard shifted the injured to the South Goa district hospital before they opted to undergo treatment in a Margao-based private hospital. “We spent around Rs seven lakh on the treatment, but my husband has lost five fingers,” she said, adding that the paraglider operator has compensated the husband by paying an amount of Rs three lakh.
The incident has brought to the fore the safety of the visitors to the beach belt, with Colva resident Simon Rodrigues demanding a detailed inquiry into the episode and a ban on motor paragliders on the beach belt taking into account the safety of the visitors.
Simon along with Colva resident Herald has demanded a total ban on motor paragliders on the beach belt.
“The German national has survived the tragedy since he is strong. His fingers were lying on the beach after they were severed after being hit by the paraglider. The lifeguards had sent the fingers to the hospital,” Simon said.
He added: “When I questioned the Colva police over the incident, they said the operator had all the requisite permissions. But, I have a question for Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Tourism Minister Rohan Khaunte – what about the safety of the visitors to the beach belt, including children playing on the silvery sands.”
Simon and Herald demanded that the government revoke the permissions already granted by the government taking into account the safety of visitors to the beach.
“I will move the authorities to furnish information under the RTI to find out whether the government had put in place safety aspects. No visitor to Goa’s beach belt should face such a tragedy when people come to enjoy the sun, sand and sea," he said.
When The Goan contacted the Colva police to shed light on the incident, PI Theron D’Costa said the police had registered a case of an accident.
“This accident had taken place much before I had taken charge of Colva police station. But, the records show that the motorized paraglider was in operation with the requisite permissions,” PI Theron added.
