As if Skydiving doesn’t seem dangerous enough, add a group of over 200 people in the air at one time. Two experienced jumpers collided on Tuesday in mid-air around 200 feet above ground with their parachutes open. Their parachutes collapsed and then they plummeted to the ground. One died on scene, the other was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead.
Later the victims were identified as Keiron O’Rourke, 40, of the United Kingdom, and Bernd Schmehl, 51, of German. Schmehl had 1,797 total career jumps and O’Rourke had 849.
Apparently, a third jumper suffered injuries on Tuesday and was airlifted to a Phoenix hospital, but his accident was unrelated.
The scene in Eloy, Arizona,between Phoenix and Tucson, is a popular skydiving area in the desert that averages over 135,000 jumps per year.
Eloy Police Department and the Federal Aviation Administration are conducting an investigation to determine what caused the two men to collide. (Just a guess, but gravity?)
Images (via) Skydive Arizona