- Emergency services were called to an industrial estate in County Durham
- They pronounced the man, in his 40s, dead at the scene
- It has since been confirmed that he worked at a nearby skydiving centre
A man who died in a parachute crash over the weekend was a videographer working for a skydiving company, it has been confirmed.
Emergency services rushed to the South West Industrial Estate in Shotton, County Durham, at 12:30pm on April 27 after reports someone had landed on a factory roof.
Police were joined by colleagues from fire and ambulance but the man, in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
It has since been confirmed that the man was a member of staff at SkyHigh Skydiving, which is based in Shotton.
The company has said it will be closed this week while it comes to terms with the tragedy.
A spokesperson said: ‘Following a serious incident on April 27, we have taken the decision to close our operations until Friday May 3.
‘The incident involved one of our staff videographers and not one of our one-off charity jumpers.’
Sky High Skydiving, formerly Peterlee Parachute Centre, has been at Shotton Colliery since 1987 and allows people to do tandem jumps for fun or for charity.
They also teach others how to jump solo and gain internationally recognised skydiving licenses.
Investigations are now being carried out by Durham Police and the sport’s governing body to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.
The Sky High Skydiving spokesperson added: ‘We are now assisting British Skydiving and the police with enquires.
‘We are all deeply saddened by the loss of a close friend, colleague and talented member of our team, our skydiving family.
‘So please bear with us during this difficult time.
‘If you have a jump booked, you will be contacted in the next few days by our office team to arrange a new date for you to come in and complete your jump.’
The company has been inundated with messages of support following the man’s death on Saturday.
Writing on its Facebook page, Richie Smith said: ‘Thinking of my skydiving family at this horrific time.
‘Sending my love to you all and my condolences to the family.
‘You are the best at what we do and you will get through this very sad time. Much love to all.’
John Campbell said: ‘You and their family are in my thoughts during this difficult time.
‘May you find comfort and strength in the love and support of those around you.’
Denise Hubble said: ‘Thinking of the family, also everyone at Sky High Skydiving Peterlee who had to witness this devastating event happening to their close friend and colleague.
‘Our thoughts are with you all.’
Detective Chief Inspector Mel Sutherland, leading the investigation, said: ‘Officers are keen to speak to anyone who was travelling on the A19 at around 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.’
A spokesperson for the North East Ambulance Service said: ‘We received a call at 12:22 BST to reports of an incident in the South West Industrial Estate area of Peterlee.
‘We dispatched 4 Hazardous Area Response Teams (HART), a clinical team leader, a specialist paramedic, two ambulances and requested support from the air ambulance.’
Anyone with information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident number 168 of April 27.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/articles.rss
Perkin Amalaraj
