Two licensed skydivers were killed in a mid-air collision during an organised event in California, after their parachutes became entangled during the descent.
The accident happened on Friday at Skydive Elsinore. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said deputies were sent to the site late that morning following reports of an air emergency.
Both skydivers were taken to a local hospital with critical injuries, where they were pronounced dead.
The Riverside County coroner’s office identified the victims as 29-year-old Levi Pimentel, from Aurora, Illinois, and 56-year-old Georgia Jean, from Box Elder, South Dakota.
Skydive Elsinore said the pair had been visiting from out of town to take part in the event. Their free-fall and parachute deployment had proceeded normally before the collision at about 150ft 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,” the company said.
Skydive Elsinore said there was no evidence of equipment malfunction. The operation is located about an hour from both San Diego and Los Angeles.
