A WOMAN HAS died after her parachute failed to open during a skydive in England.
The 49-year-old woman was found in an area close to the Skydive Academy at Shotton airfield in east Durham, from which the plane she had been travelling in had flown.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene at about 3.45pm yesterday.
Durham Police said the victim, who was from Hebburn, was airlifted to the James Cook Memorial Hospital in Middlesbrough, where she died yesterday evening.
An investigation involving Durham Constabulary, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the British Parachute Association is underway.
The coroner has been informed and a post-mortem will be carried out.
‘Tragic’
Detective Inspector Dave Cuthbert said: “This is a tragic incident. The lady who has died was using her own equipment and was making her first skydive in this country, having previously made parachute jumps abroad.
“We will be working with the HSE and the British Parachuting Association to establish why this tragedy happened.”
The skydiving centre where the dive began will remain closed today.
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