Heartbreaking moment: Paraglider slips through harness and clings to instructor during cliff ride at holiday hotspot in Turkey

This is the heartbreaking moment when a paraglider slipped through his harness and clung to his instructor as they flew off a cliff at a holiday destination in Turkey.

Footage shows the pair taking off from a scenic hilltop location on Turkey’s Black Sea coast.

The trouble starts immediately after they leave the ground, with the paraglider making desperate hand movements as the flying machine swings back and forth.

Spectators on the hill can be heard expressing concern as the instructor gently waves back before apparently landing.

Video shows the emergency services and event organizers huddling around the couple on the grass as a woman walks away sobbing.

Turkish media reported that the passenger, who has not been named, suffered minor abrasions but was otherwise unharmed.

The incident took place at the 5th International Kapikaya Nature Sports Festival, in the Bafra district of Samsun province in the north-central part of the country.

Turkey attracts paragliding enthusiasts from all over the world, with Oludeniz, Babadag Mountain and Pamukkale being favorite locations.

In April, a British man was arrested in Turkey after a fatal mid-air collision with another paraglider.

Thomas Aitken, 45, was said to have been detained by police after 30-year-old Orkut Baysal died following their aerial disaster.

The horror crash amid windy conditions took place in the Turkish district of Fethiye, Mugla province.

Baysal, who was part of the Turkish national paragliding team, had jumped from 1,700 meters above sea level – more than a mile – when disaster struck, local reports said.

He had jumped with fellow Turkish national paraglider Andac Ünsal, 45, as part of a tandem flight at the same time Aitken was performing a solo jump.

Footage shows the paraglider carrying a passenger taking off from a scenic hillside location on Turkey’s Black Sea coast. After a brief dance with death, the paraglider gently swings back before seemingly landing

Video shows emergency services and event organizers huddling around the couple on the grass as a woman walks away sobbing

During the descent of the professional paragliders, Baysal and Aitken collided, with both men falling onto the roof of a hotel before landing on the edge of the resort’s swimming pool.

Some Turkish media reports say the two parachutes became entangled during the impact, just 65 feet (about 20 meters) off the ground.

Local police and medics were dispatched to the scene of the crash and the injured paragliders were taken to Fethiye State Hospital for treatment.

But Baysal died from multiple injuries inflicted by the disaster in the sky.

Both Aitken and Ünsal were reportedly injured, but not with life-threatening injuries.