A fundraising campaign has been set-up for the family of a taxi driver who died in a paragliding accident to help cover the costs of his funeral.

Rafal ‘Ralph’ Skóra (41), a paragliding enthusiast originally from Poland, had been living in Artane, north Dublin, with his wife Dominika, son Benjamin (3) and daughter Julianna (1). Mr Skóra’s 21-year-old son Jakuub lives in Poland.

The experienced glider had taken off from Black Hill above Blessington Lakes and was last seen heading south over the Wicklow Mountains on Saturday.

The alarm was raised by his wife on Saturday night when he failed to return home.

His body was found on Sunday at 8am by a group of fellow paragliders, as well as Wicklow ­Mountain Rescue, and the Irish Coast Guard Rescue.

His body was discovered nearby when the ground search crews were directed to the scene.

His body was removed for post mortem, and the Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU) has been informed and will begin an investigation to establish the cause of the incident.

Funeral arrangements are yet to be announced as his remains may be repatriated to Poland.

A friend of the family, Alan De Tourtoulon, created the page on gofundme.com hoping to raise €50,000. So far more than €3,000 has been raised.

Mr De Tourtoulon said: “He [Rafal] didn’t have any funeral insurance and his wife doesn’t have access to his accounts.

“He leaves a widow and three children. The last two under three. [He] was kind, enthusiastic and honest.”

Source: Read Full Article