In Victoria, a tragic skydiving accident claimed the life of a young man.
The group of skydivers, including the experienced skydiver, took out from an aircraft early on Sunday near Connewarre, 70 kilometres southwest of Melbourne.
The 34-year-old man tragically passed away at the scene not far from Breamlea Road, becoming the second parachuting fatality to shake the area in the past year.
At around 10:30 am, a second man landed in the same location unharmed.
It is believed that this was the man’s first jump in a wingsuit, a customised jumpsuit that extends the time a flyer may stay in the air by increasing the body’s surface area.
According to the Geelong Advertiser, the two were engaging with Australian Skydive, which is based at Torquay Airport, some 20 kilometres south of Geelong.
The company stated that the incident’s cause was still being investigated.
‘An experienced jumper in his 30s has died as a result of a parachute accident. The cause is under investigation by the Australian Parachute Federation,’ it read.
‘As I am sure you are aware, parachuting can be an inherently dangerous sport, and our thoughts and love go out to his family and friends at this time.’
According to Richard McCooey, CEO of the Australian Parachute Federation, the man had made 300 jumps while being supervised by an experienced tutor.
‘We know very little beyond that at this stage, although it appears the man failed to deploy either of his parachutes,’ he said.
It happens following the passing of a skydiving instructor in 2021, when a tandem jump went horribly wrong when the parachute didn’t open.
A police report will be made for the coroner.