North Vancouver man dies in paragliding accident in Tanzania

A North Vancouver restaurant owner has died in a paragliding accident yesterday in Tanzania. His death was confirmed in a social media post by Tanzania Parks.

Justin Kyllo, 51, the owner of Smoke and Bones BBQ on Marine Drive, and his wife, Cheryl, were in Tanzania to be part of the Wings of Kilimanjaro event, an annual charity event where participants climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and paraglide off the top.

Tanzania Parks wrote on Twitter that Kyllo (51) died after a Parachute accident at Mount Kilimanjaro on Stella Point.

On a fundraising page, Kyllo said he was honoued to be in Tanzania for the journey of a lifetime. “As a past team member with Wings Of Kilimanjaro in 2013 and 2016, I have been awarded the opportunity to return and see firsthand the results produced through the efforts of all those involved since the very beginning. Not only has the Wings of Kilimanjaro created the most amazing memories and experiences for myself, it has helped those who have far less and in need of the basic necessities that I have always taken for granted.”

According to the restaurant’s Facebook page, Kyllo joined the charity in 2013 which was aimed at getting 100 pilots to the summit in an effort to raise a million dollars for Tanzania.

Kyllo’s efforts contributed to building of an elementary school, supply of clean water wells in the Maasai tribal lands, planting of millions of trees and providing agricultural education. The 2019 event in Tanzania was meant to expand the local school capacity.