Man who died in parachute incident in County Durham was staff - confirms company
A skydiving firm in County Durham has confirmed that a man who died in a parachute fall over the weekend was a member of staff
A skydiving firm in County Durham has confirmed that a man who died in a parachute fall over the weekend was a member of staff.
Sky-High Skydiving, which operates out of Shotton Airfield in County Durham, confirmed that the person who died on Saturday was staff and not "a one-off charity jumper".
The business, which says on its Facebook page it specialises "in making people into skydivers, with Tandem and Accelerated FreeFall experiences", will remain closed this week following the incident.
In a statement on social media, it said: "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."
The firm said it was working with Durham Police and British Skydiving to investigate what happened.
Emergency services were called to South West Industrial Estate in Shotton, near Peterlee, at 12.30pm on Saturday and a man in his 40s was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they are treating the death as unexpected and inquiries are ongoing.
Detective Chief Inspector Mel Sutherland, who is leading the investigation, said: "Officers are keen to speak to anyone who was travelling on the A19 at around 12.20pm to 12.30pm who may have mobile phone or dashcam footage which captures the moments leading up to the incident.
"Our thoughts remain with the man's family at this time."
Anyone with information is asked to contact 101.