Pilot missing in Colombia

We are looking to fundraise towards the search and rescue efforts for Witold Gilarski, a paraglider pilot that was participating in a cross country competition in the Antioquia region of Colombia.

On the 6th day of the competition Witold launched, ready to participate in a 57km race to the south of Santa Fe de Antioquia. Cross country racing involves flying your paraglider as fast as you are able around a defined route to see who can get to the goal the fastest. All pilots fly with navigation equipment, basic safety equipment and a live tracker to monitor their progress. Unfortunately his tracking stopped just 20 minutes after launching and despite extensive searches, he has still not been found.

There was brief contact with him by phone 28 hours after he disappeared and it was confirmed he landed well, without accident, and he was walking back towards civilisation. He had apparently decided to fly an extension to the task and, having launched early, first fly deep to the north to explore that area before returning to the task area. This is where we believe he found himself in difficulty. Thus the search area presented to us is huge, as much as 600km2.

It is now 4 days after his disappearance. In that time the search has escalated from initial local area searches by the competition organisers and local authorities, quickly expanding to involvement by the national authorities with ground and limited air support. At this time the search is a joint collaboration between the national authorities, the event organisers and local volunteers.

There is still hope to find Witold. For example, several years ago another pilot emerged from the jungle three days after their disappearance, unscathed. We know from Witold's call that he was near a river and walking, so he has access to water.

We are seeking additional funds to help support the many volunteers in the area. We have pilots with drones, paramotor pilots and ground support crew. We have a helicopter on standby in the region and a team in Europe assisting with the search of all the aerial photography that is produced. We are additionally hoping to purchase live satellite imagery, subject to A, raising sufficient funds and B, the upper cloud cover clearing to give a good view of the valleys.

Witold, 69, has been an active paraglider pilot for many years, and has been competing since 2014. He became a member of the Sports-class Racing Series (SRS) in 2023 and this was his 6th competition in the series.

Any funds raised will be managed and distributed by the Sports-class Racing Series in the most effective way to assist with the search, rescue and recovery of Witold by the volunteers and additional methods we can employ. Funds that may be unused when the search concludes, if any, will be put towards future safety projects in the SRS. The SRS is a non profit company registered in the UK and exists to create sportive racing events for sports paraglider pilots.

Costs to date, and projected forwards an additional 7 days, include but are not limited to:

Satellite imaging : 6,000-8,000€ (Only if we get good weather)

Local Volunteers accommodation, food etc : 9,000€

Rescue teams fuel : 2,000€

Lost safety/rescue equipment compensation: 5,000€

Paratrike rental costs : 2,000€

Reward for information leading to recovery : 5.000.000 cop (1,100€)

There are other costs projected in the rescue effort not listed.

TOTAL projected = 45,000€ however there is potentially 25,000€ available from his insurance. This appeal is for the difference.