A mum-of-eight is reportedly one of three people who died during a skydive in Australia today.
Kerri Pike, aged 50, is said to have undertaken the skydive at Mission Beach, in Queensland – with experienced instructors Peter Dawson and Toby Turner, both in their thirties – when the expedition went wrong.
Witnesses saw all three individuals falling from the sky, landing a few kilometres away from the usual landing point, at around 3pm in the afternoon.
The emergency services were contacted, and paramedics arrived on the scene shortly after. Sadly, all three were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities believe the tragic accident may have been the result of a parachute failure.
“Initial investments indicated that a solo skydiver may have collided with tandem skydivers in mid-air, with their parachutes failing to deploy correctly,” a police statement read.
Every person in Mission Beach we have spoken to about #skydive tragedy is absolutely heartbroken. Big industry, well supported by locals
— Daniel Bateman (@BatemanDan) October 13, 2017
Skydiving in the area has since been suspended, with Skydive Australia extending its sympathies to the families in a statement.
“One of the deceased, a highly experienced instructor who had completed thousands of jumps, was completing a solo jump,” it read.
“The other two were jumping as a tandem pair: a highly experienced instructor and a customer.”
According to the Courier Mail, Ms Pike had been given the skydive as a present from her family for her fiftieth birthday, which she celebrated recently.
We are thinking of the victims and their families at this most tragic time.
