Skydiver Dies In Horrific Accident After Parachute Fails To Deploy

A 30-year-old skydiver died after his parachute failed to deploy properly in Jurien Bay, Western Australia, on Sunday afternoon.

A report by Perth Now said the accident happened at about 1.30 p.m. (10.30 p.m. ET Saturday) when the man was doing a solo wingsuit jump at the Virtual Nationals Skydiving Competition. An experienced skydiver, the man was taking part in the week-long competition held across Australia with his friends when the tragedy struck.

A local skydiving company said the unidentified deceased was a foreign national.

“The man jumped from an aircraft and it is believed his parachutes failed to deploy correctly and he fell to the ground. The man received critical injuries and sadly died at the scene,” 7News quoted the police as saying.

Though first responders rushed to the man to provide first aid, he died at the scene.

Skydive Jurien Bay co-owner Christine Sparrow mourned his death.

"This is a terrible day for the skydiving community. We have never had a fatality in the 10 years we have operated the business here in Jurien Bay, or previous skydiving operations. Our thoughts are with the man's family and friends as well as the first responders at the event yesterday," said Sparrow, ABC News reported.

Meanwhile, Leslee Homes, president of the local government area Shire of Dandaragan, said the man is understood to have used his own equipment.

"The (man) who unfortunately who lost his life was a veteran of skydiving, 6,000 jumps," she said, adding how the tragedy had devastated the coastal town. "The first responders, and the (people) who had to witness this, it must be absolutely chilling."

The accident is currently under investigation by the Australian Parachute Federation. "Regardless of the level of experience involved, safety is paramount and we take the incident very seriously," said Australian Parachute Federation chief executive officer Richard McCooey. He said a full investigation would be conducted to identify the most likely cause and contributing factors.

Jurien Bay is a popular tourist destination well known for its skydiving.

In a similar incident, a skydiver had to be rushed to hospital in 2019 after he broke his leg during a hard landing at Jurien Bay. After he crashed to the ground, a rescue helicopter rushed him to a nearby hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening.