Brit is arrested after fatal mid-air collision with another paraglider which sent both men crashing on to a hotel roof in Turkey
- Thomas Aitken, 45, was reportedly detained by police after the fatal collision
- They both crashed and fell on a hotel roof before landing on the edge of a pool
A British man has been arrested in Turkey after a fatal mid-air collision with another paraglider which sent both men plummeting onto a hotel roof.
Thomas Aitken, 45, is said to have been detained by police after 30-year-old Orkut Baysal died following their mid-air disaster.
The horror crash amid windy conditions happened in Turkey’s Fethiye district, in the province of Mugla, on Sunday, April 30.
Baysal, who was an athlete in the Turkish national paragliding team, had jumped from a height of over a mile (1,700 metres) above sea level when the disaster struck, local reports said.
He had jumped with fellow Turkish national paraglider Andac Ünsal, 45, as part of a tandem flight at the same time that Aitken was carrying out a solo jump.
Thomas Aitken, 45, is said to have been detained by police after 30-year-old Orkut Baysal (pictured) died following their mid-air disaster
Baysal died from multiple injuries inflicted by the horror mid-air disaster. He is pictured in a previous jump
During the professional paragliders’ descent, Baysal and Aitken collided with both men plummeting into a hotel roof before landing on the edge of the resort’s swimming pool.
Some reports in Turkish media say that the two parachutes became entangled in the collision just 65 feet (around 20 metres) off the ground.
Local police and medics were sent to the crash site, with the injured paragliders taken to the Fethiye State Hospital for treatment.
But Baysal died from multiple injuries inflicted by the horror mid-air disaster. His body has since been taken to the morgue at the state hospital
Both Aitken and Ünsal were reportedly injured but were not in life-threatening conditions.
It is understood Aitken was subsequently detained in police custody pending the outcome of the investigation.
Turkish police are investigating the cause of the collision and whether there was any potential negligence on behalf of those involved.
Orkut Baysal, 30, poses in undated photo. Two paragliders collided during landing in Fethiye, Turkey
Professional paraglider Orkut Baysal, 30, died after a collision during a landing in Fethiye last week
The deadly incident has reportedly raised questions regarding safety regulations and practices in the paragliding community.
The investigation is ongoing.
