SAN JOAQUIN, Calif., Aug. 7 (UPI) — Two skydivers died Saturday in northern California when their tandem parachute failed to deploy.
The men in their 20s, who have yet to be identified, hit the ground without an open parachute in San Joaquin, CNN reported.
Lt. Randy Johnson of the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Office, said a preliminary investigation revealed the chute never deployed. The bodies of the two men were found in a vineyard in the Lodi area.
“Deputies responded out to the scene (about 10 a.m.) and came across a tandem jumping pair that did impact the ground without their shoot deploying,” Johnson said.
Bill Dause, the owner of the Lodi Parachute Center, said the instructor in the tandem jump was an independent contractor with some 700 jumps of experience, KCRA reported.
“The parachute failed to eject properly. We have no explanation why,” said Dause. “The only thing it looks like is something may have gone out of sequence (and) that may have caused the problem.”
Other sky divers visiting the center continued to jump Saturday afternoon, Dause said. “I am always liable but I am not concerned. We didn’t do anything wrong,” Dause said. “It’s a love of the sport. You keep going.”
