There was no negligence in the incident which led to a parachute cord attached to a winch boat to snap with two suspended paragliders dangling on, the water sports operator insisted.

Godfrey Bartolo, one of the directors of Oh Yeah Cruises and Water Sports, told The Sunday Times of Malta that in the 28 years he has spent in the business, he had never witnessed a similar event.

Mr Bartolo was in his boat together with employee Terry McKenna and five other clients, pulling the two youths across Mellieħa Bay, when a strong gust of wind enveloped them, blowing them off course and ultimately leading to the cord to snap.

“I had seen some clouds in the far distance but never did I think that a waterspout was coming our way,” Mr Bartolo said.

Read more in The Sunday Times of Malta.

Read paragliders account here.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.