Woman who died in Durham sky dive named

The family of a woman killed in a parachute accident have described her as an avid skydiver who "lived life to the full"

Published 11th Sep 2016

The family of a woman killed in a parachute accident have described her as an avid skydiver who "lived life to the full"

49-year-old Pamela Gower died after her equipment didn't open properly yesterday in County Durham.

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 last night.

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.”