Tribute to tragic Hebburn skydiver who was 'loved by everybody'
The family of a woman killed in a parachute accident have described her as an avid skydiver who "lived life to the full"
The family of a woman killed in a parachute accident have described her as an avid skydiver who "lived life to the full"
Pamela Gower, 49, from Hebburn, died after her equipment didn't open properly yesterday in Shotton.
On her Facebook profile, she'd written "Nothing makes me more happy than skydiving".
She was found in an area close to Shotton airfield from which the plane she had been travelling in had flown.
Police and paramedics were called to the scene at about 3.45pm.
She was airlifted to the James Cook Memorial Hospital in Middlesbrough, where she died.
Pamela was using a modified sky diving rig, approved by the British Parachute Association (BPA), as she had restricted growth.
Durham Police has said her reserve parachute did deploy, and the circumstances of her death were being investigated jointly by the police, the BPA and the Civil Aviation Authority.
Her family say she was an independent woman who let nothing get in her way''.
Friends have described Pamela, who worked for Remploy, as living life to the full.
Her parents Catherine and Len said in a statement: Pamela was a great girl who was loved by her family so much and was a wonderful daughter and sister.
Pamela was a very determined and independent woman who let nothing get in her way and we feel this photograph of her next to the Taj Mahal is a perfect example of this.
Our mam always told Pamela how proud she was of her, as was the rest of our family. We will remember how she always saw the funny side of things, just like her 'da'.
She often asked her 'da' who was his favourite, and he used to say 'you were the best of a bad bunch!' as there were five children.
She will be a huge miss as she was loved by everybody.
It was lovely to hear the warm messages from everyone and we would like to thank people for sending us their kind words.''
Locals in Shotton Colliery tried desperately to save her before the emergency services arrived and her family expressed their gratitude.
The family said: *We would also like to thank all those who were involved in trying to help Pamela, from the nurse and the ex-soldier who were first on the scene to the various agencies who tried to save Pamela, including the police, ambulance service, paramedics and the hospital.*
As a family we are devastated at this very difficult time and would appreciate privacy to grieve in peace.''
An investigation involving Durham Constabulary, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the British Parachute Association is underway.
The coroner has been informed and a post mortem will be carried out in due course.
Detective Inspector Dave Cuthbert said: “This is a tragic incident. The lady who has died was using her own equipment and was making her first sky dive in this country, having previously made parachute jumps abroad.
“We will be working with the HSE and the British Parachuting Association to establish why this tragedy happened.”