Two skydivers die after midair collision in California
The incident occurred at Skydive Elsinore on Friday
Two experienced skydivers died after a midair collision at an organized skydiving event in California.
The pair were taking part in the event at Skydive Elsinore on Friday when the incident occurred.
Both were licensed jumpers with a high level of experience, the company said in a statement.
Emergency responders from the Riverside County Fire Department said the two suffered traumatic injuries, and they were taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition.
According to Skydive Elsinore, the initial free fall and the deployment of both parachutes went as planned.
The company said the two jumpers collided roughly 150 feet (about 46 meters) above the ground as they prepared to land.
"The collision caused their parachutes to become entangled, and both sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground," Skydive Elsinore said in a statement.
Both were later pronounced dead at the hospital.
Back in June, 12 people died when a skydiving plane crashed in Missouri. The crash killed 11 jumpers and the pilot.
The plane was barely off the ground — only about 100 feet (30 meters) in the air — when it made an abrupt left turn before crashing on a sunny day. It appeared to be losing power, witnesses said.
The 12 people killed were identified as Blake Thacker, Kurt John Roy, Michael Shanahan, David Hershberger, Sai Karthik Varma Datla, Matthew Swope, Dustin McKinney, Jen Sharp, Marcus Miller, Nicholas Nash, William Fischer and Dane Cordes, according to the Bates County Coroner's Office.
Blake Thacker, 25, jumped for seven years since first skydiving on his 18th birthday. He was set to get his skydiving coach certification over the weekend of the crash, his mother Sherry said.
“Skydiving had given him the confidence to do other things in his life, to be successful and reach for things maybe he thought he wasn’t good enough to do," she said.