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| Experienced skydivers and female customer die in Queensland accident | Experienced skydivers and female customer die in Queensland accident |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Police hope mobile phone footage will help them piece together what caused a skydiving tragedy in north Queensland that killed two experienced instructors and a customer following a mid-air collision. | Police hope mobile phone footage will help them piece together what caused a skydiving tragedy in north Queensland that killed two experienced instructors and a customer following a mid-air collision. |
| Two men in their 30s and a woman in her 50s were found dead at Mission Beach – several kilometres from the usual beach landing point – just after 3pm on Friday. | Two men in their 30s and a woman in her 50s were found dead at Mission Beach – several kilometres from the usual beach landing point – just after 3pm on Friday. |
| One of the male victims was a solo skydiver while the others were on a tandem dive. | |
| Investigators have asked anyone with footage of the incident to contact them. | Investigators have asked anyone with footage of the incident to contact them. |
| “We’re appealing for anyone that did witness or has some of kind of footage to come forward to police,” Senior Sergeant Peter Williamson said on Friday. | “We’re appealing for anyone that did witness or has some of kind of footage to come forward to police,” Senior Sergeant Peter Williamson said on Friday. |
| Operating company Skydive Australia said the solo skydiver was a “highly experienced instructor who had completed thousands of jumps … the other two were jumping as a tandem pair: a highly experienced instructor and a customer.” | Operating company Skydive Australia said the solo skydiver was a “highly experienced instructor who had completed thousands of jumps … the other two were jumping as a tandem pair: a highly experienced instructor and a customer.” |
| Skydive Australia suspended operations at Mission Beach while investigations into the incident continued. | Skydive Australia suspended operations at Mission Beach while investigations into the incident continued. |
| Queensland police said: “Initial investigations indicate that a solo skydiver may have collided with tandem skydivers in mid-air with their parachutes failing to deploy correctly.” | Queensland police said: “Initial investigations indicate that a solo skydiver may have collided with tandem skydivers in mid-air with their parachutes failing to deploy correctly.” |
| One witness told the Cairns Post newspaper: “You could see one chute was tangled and it wasn’t opening. I was just watching him in free fall until he went behind the trees and that was the last I saw. It wasn’t good to watch. I had my heart in my mouth.” | One witness told the Cairns Post newspaper: “You could see one chute was tangled and it wasn’t opening. I was just watching him in free fall until he went behind the trees and that was the last I saw. It wasn’t good to watch. I had my heart in my mouth.” |
| Skydive Australia said: “The company extends its deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the individuals and families involved and the broader skydiving community.” | Skydive Australia said: “The company extends its deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences to the individuals and families involved and the broader skydiving community.” |
| Wayne Kimberley, a Cassowary shire councillor who has represented the Mission Beach area for more than a decade, said it was a “terrible accident and obviously a tragedy for the community, and the [local tourism] industry”. | Wayne Kimberley, a Cassowary shire councillor who has represented the Mission Beach area for more than a decade, said it was a “terrible accident and obviously a tragedy for the community, and the [local tourism] industry”. |
| “Obviously from council’s perspective, we’ll be offering as much support as we can, to try and find out what actually happened,” he said. “We value the tourism industry and this is a terrible blow to that industry – particularly at Mission Beach, where we rely so heavily on tourism.” | “Obviously from council’s perspective, we’ll be offering as much support as we can, to try and find out what actually happened,” he said. “We value the tourism industry and this is a terrible blow to that industry – particularly at Mission Beach, where we rely so heavily on tourism.” |
| He said skydiving was a drawcard for adventure-minded tourists in the area, along with whitewater rafting trips on the Tully river. | He said skydiving was a drawcard for adventure-minded tourists in the area, along with whitewater rafting trips on the Tully river. |
| Kimberley said he knew little of the details, but said skydivers usually landed on Mission Beach in front of the Castaways resort, which is about three kilometres south of the less populated area near Alexander Drive where the victims were found. | Kimberley said he knew little of the details, but said skydivers usually landed on Mission Beach in front of the Castaways resort, which is about three kilometres south of the less populated area near Alexander Drive where the victims were found. |
| Australian Associated Press contributed to this report | Australian Associated Press contributed to this report |