Woman dies in hang-gliding accident

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AGASSIZ, British Columbia, April 29 (UPI) -- A woman trying hang gliding for the first time fell about 1,000 feet to her death in Canada this weekend, officials said.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported Sunday Lenami Godinez, 27, fell into a clearing shortly after takeoff Saturday at Mount Woodside near Agassiz, British Columbia. Her body was recovered Saturday evening.

Jason Warner of the Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association told QMI Agency Godinez was with an instructor during the tandem takeoff, but something quickly went wrong.

"It happened within less than 30 seconds, he knew just after takeoff something was wrong. She was holding on, grabbing the bar. Everything was different," he said.

The cause of the accident had not been determined, but investigators were looking into equipment failure or pilot error as contributing factors.The woman's boyfriend filmed the takeoff, but investigators could not determine the cause of the accident from the footage, QMI Agency reported.

"At this point it looks like a really, really sad horrific accident," Royal Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Mark Pelz said.

Godinez, who was from Mexico, had lived in Canada for nine years and was an administrator for the provincial government, the CBC said.