Experienced skydiver participating in national competition killed in horror accident

A veteran skydiver has been killed in a horrific accident while participating in a national competition.

The man was a veteran skydiver who had completed 6000 jumps. Picture: Generic skydiving image. David Nielsen/The Queensland Times

A foreign national has died during a skydiving solo jump in Western Australia, with police suspecting his parachute failed to deploy.

The 30-year-old man was competing in the Virtual Nationals Skydiving Championships with friends in the coastal town of Jurien Bay, north of Perth, just after 1pm on Sunday when the tragedy happened.

“The man jumped from an aircraft and it is believed his parachutes failed to deploy correctly and he fell to the ground,” police said in a statement on Monday.

“The man received critical injuries and sadly died at the scene.”

Dandaragan shire president Leslee Holmes said the man was an experienced skydiver who had completed 6000 jumps.

“He was using his own equipment ... it was an absolute tragedy,” she told NCA NewsWire on Monday.

“We’re absolutely devastated. For the first responders too, it’s horrific.”

The man was participating in a skydiving competition at the time of the tragedy.

A report is being prepared for the coroner and the Australian Parachute Federation is also investigating what happened.

“Regardless of the level of experience involved, safety is paramount and we take every incident very seriously,” Australian Parachute Federation chief executive Richard McCooey said in a statement.

Skydive Jurien Bay co-owner Christine Sparrow said the man was competing in a wing suit event as part of the week-long competition at several locations.

“This is a terrible day for the skydiving community,” she said.

“Our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends as well as the first responders at the event yesterday.”

Despite the police indication that the man’s parachute failed to deploy properly, Ms Sparrow told NCA NewsWire that it was too early to speculate what happened.

Jurien Bay is a popular tourist town that is well known for its skydiving.

Ms Holmes described it as the town’s “marquee business” and said she hoped people would not be deterred from skydiving following the tragedy.