A father and his four year old daughter have been injured in a paragliding accident in the Austrian Alps after their tandem flight ended in a fall shortly after takeoff.
The accident happened on Wednesday afternoon in Schwendau, in the Schwaz district of Tirol, according to Austrian authorities.
Both the 32 year old man and his daughter were injured and transported by rescue helicopter to a hospital in Innsbruck following emergency treatment at the scene, Austrian broadcaster ORF reported.
The incident has drawn attention in Austria as authorities investigate exactly what happened during the first moments of the flight.
Accident happened shortly after takeoff
According to information released by police and reported by ORF Tirol, the father and daughter began their tandem paragliding flight at around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
They took off from the Penken paragliding launch site in the municipality of Schwendau, located in the Zillertal region of Tirol.
The accident occurred during the takeoff phase.
Initial information indicates that lines connected to the paraglider became entangled during the launch.
Shortly afterwards, the father and his young daughter fell from an unknown height and landed on the ground.
Both were injured in the impact.
Die Presse, citing police information, also reported that the paraglider's lines appeared to have become entangled during the start of the flight.
Father and daughter flown to Innsbruck
Emergency services responded to the accident and provided initial medical treatment at the scene.
The 32 year old father and his four year old daughter were then transported by rescue helicopter to the Innsbruck clinic.
ORF reported that their injuries were of an unspecified severity.
No further details about their medical condition had been released at the time of the latest reports.
Authorities also had not publicly established the exact height from which they fell.
What happened to the paraglider?
The investigation is expected to focus on the launch phase and the apparent problem involving the paraglider's lines.
Paragliding equipment relies on numerous suspension lines connecting the pilot and harness to the canopy.
During a normal launch, the canopy must inflate correctly before the pilot becomes airborne.
Police information reported by Austrian media indicates that some of the lines became entangled during the launch in Schwendau.
However, the precise sequence of events leading to the fall has not yet been publicly established.
Authorities have therefore not announced a definitive cause of the accident.
Where is Schwendau?
Schwendau is a municipality in Tirol's Zillertal region, one of Austria's best known Alpine tourism destinations.
The Penken mountain area is closely associated with outdoor activities and attracts visitors throughout the year.
In winter, the wider region is particularly popular for skiing and snowboarding, while warmer months bring hikers, mountain bikers and paragliding enthusiasts.
The dramatic Alpine terrain and substantial elevation differences make the Zillertal area attractive for aerial sports.
Wednesday's accident involved a tandem flight, where a passenger flies together with another person using the same paraglider.
In this case, the passengers were a 32 year old Austrian man and his four year old daughter, according to ORF.
Investigation continues
Police information available Wednesday evening provided only the initial circumstances surrounding the accident.
The apparent entanglement of the lines is an important part of the early account, but authorities have not yet publicly confirmed whether this alone caused the fall.
Further information could emerge as investigators reconstruct the takeoff and examine the equipment involved.
For now, Austrian authorities have confirmed that both father and daughter survived the fall and were transported to hospital for medical treatment.
Their current conditions have not been publicly detailed.
