Man dies after parachute incident in County Durham

The British Skydiving Board will investigate the death of a man in his 40s in a parachute incident in Durham on Saturday.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene after emergency services were called to South West industrial estate in Shotton shortly after midday. The death is being treated as unexpected and a cordon remains in place at the scene.

The man, who has yet to be named, is thought to have been a member of the Sky-High skydiving club based at Shotton airfield, half a mile away from where he was found.

The club told the Guardian there would be an investigation. A statement said: “A British Skydiving board of inquiry will investigate the incident and when completed will submit reports to the coroner, the police, the CAA [Civil Aviation Authority], British Skydiving and any other relevant authorities. The report will include the board’s conclusions and will, if appropriate, make recommendations.”

The ambulance service said it sent teams to the industrial estate after a call at 12.22pm on Saturday. Police and fire services joined hazardous area response teams, two ambulances and the Great North air ambulance.

Det Ch Insp Mel Sutherland, who is leading the investigation, said: “Officers are keen to speak to anyone who was travelling on the A19 at about 12.20pm to 12.30pm who may have mobile phone footage or dashcam footage which captures the moments leading up to the incident. Our thoughts remain with the man’s family at this time.”

The incident is the second fatal parachute incident at the airfield in the last 10 years. In 2016 a woman died at a housing estate near Shotton airfield when her primary parachute failed to open.

Pamela Gower, from Hebburn, Tyne and Wear, received fatal injuries landing on a parked car after her ropes became tangled. A family member said she “lived life to the full” and died “doing what she loved”.

Fatal skydiving accidents are extremely rare, occurring once in every 100,000 jumps.

In 2022, a member of the diving display team the Red Devils died attempting an unplanned stunt at 3,000ft in Seville, Spain. Dean Walton, a sergeant major in the British army, fell to the ground after becoming entangled in his dive partner’s parachute canopy.