Paraglider who died from crash in B.C. identified as U.S. man from Seattle

The man who died in a paragliding accident earlier this week near Pemberton, B.C., has been identified as John Clifford from Seattle, Wash.

BC Coroners Service says 55-year-old Clifford had been competing in the Canadian Paragliding National Championships in Pemberton, north of Whistler, on Monday when something went wrong and he ended up in the Lillooet River.

Even though search and rescue crews were dispatched to the site immediately, they couldn’t find Clifford until a day later because of severe weather.

The cause of death is being investigated.

Clifford is the fourth hang glider or paraglider to die in B.C. this year.

In June, two men died in separate crashes in Lumby and in Enderby, and in April, Lenami Godinez-Avila died after she fell from a tandem flight near Agassiz.