East Durham skydive business 'deeply saddened' after member of staff's death in jump

A parachutist who died in an incident over the weekend was a member of staff of an East Durham skydiving centre.
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Durham Police said the man in his 40s died after emergency services were called to South West Industrial Estate in Shotton at about 12.30pm on Saturday, April 27.

The SkyHigh Skydiving Peterlee, based at Shotton Airfield, has confirmed that the man was a member of staff who captured people’s parachute jumps on video.

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The business posted on social media: “The incident involved one of our staff videographers and not one of our one-off charity jumpers.

The Sky-High skydiving centre at Shotton Airfield. Picture by FRANK REIDThe Sky-High skydiving centre at Shotton Airfield. Picture by FRANK REID
The Sky-High skydiving centre at Shotton Airfield. Picture by FRANK REID

“We are now assisting British Skydiving and the police with inquires.

“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.”

Following Saturday’s incident, the centre has decided to close its operations until Friday, May 3.

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