Police and local boatmen in Pokhara on Monday rescued 14 people, including seven foreigners, when seven paragliders crashed into the Phewa lake following a sudden strong wind that caused the pilots to lose control. 

Inspector Basant Sharma of Baidam Ward Police Office said everyone on the seven paragliders were immediately rescued.

One of the rescue boats sunk during the rescue mission when the wave caused by the wind overturned the vessel, he added.

Among the rescued were seven Nepali pilots, three Chinese, one Singaporean tourists, and three other foreigners who could not be contacted after the incident . The seven passengers had signed up for tandem paragliding flights from six local agencies. They had taken off from the Sarangkot hill at around 2:15 pm. A few moments into their flights, a strong wind condition transpired, throwing paragliders out of control.

Sovit Baniya, vice-chairman of Nepal Air Sports Association, said the weather was fine before take off.