Two experienced skydivers die after midair collision tangles their parachutes

Two experienced skydivers died on Friday during an organised skydive in Southern California when their parachutes became entangled after a midair collision. The dead are 56-year-old Georgia Jean of Box Elder, South Dakota, and 29-year-old Levi Pimentel of Aurora, Illinois. Both were licensed skydivers.

The incident happened around noon at Skydive Elsinore in Lake Elsinore, about 75 miles southeast of Los Angeles. The two collided midair at about 150 feet above the ground. After the collision, their parachutes became entangled and they began to fall.

Skydive Elsinore said the freefall portion of the skydive was normal, as was the opening of the parachutes. But the collision caused their parachutes to become entangled, and both sustained critical injuries when they reached the ground.

Jean and Pimentel suffered traumatic injuries and were rushed by ambulance to a hospital, the Riverside County Fire Department said on social media. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Pimentel was a lead skydiving instructor at iFLY Naperville in Illinois. Jean had done more than 1,700 jumps.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident.