A man who died in a parachute crash over the weekend was a videographer working for a skydiving company, it has been confirmed.
Emergency services rushed to the Southwest Industrial Estate in Shotton, County Durham, at 12:30pm on April 27 after reports someone had landed on a factory roof.
Police were joined by colleagues from fire and ambulance but the man, in his 40s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
It has since been confirmed that the man was a member of staff at SkyHigh Skydiving, which is based in Shotton.
The company has said it will be closed this week while it comes to terms with the tragedy.
A spokesperson said: ‘Following a serious incident on April 27, we have taken the decision to close our operations until Friday May 3.
The company has said it will be closed this week while it comes to terms with the tragedy.
A spokesman for the firm said: “Following a serious incident on April 27, we have taken the decision to close our operations until Friday May 3.
“The incident involved one of our staff videographers and not one of our one-off charity jumpers.”
Sky High Skydiving, formerly Peterlee Parachute Centre, has been at Shotton Colliery since 1987 and was taken over by four local businessmen with a passion for the sport in 2020.
People can do tandem jumps for fun or for charity, but people can also to learn to jump solo and gain internationally recognized skydiving licenses.
Investigations are now being carried out by Durham Constabulary and the sport’s governing body to establish the circumstances surrounding the death.
The Sky High Skydiving Peterlee spokesman said: “We are now assisting British Skydiving and the police with enquires.
“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.
“If you have a jump booked, you will be contacted in the next few days by our office team to arrange a new date for you to come in and complete your jump.”
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