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PARACHUTE

British paraglider dies after chute collapses

A British woman, described as an experience paraglider, died on Sunday in the Sierra de Líjar southern Spain after her parachute collapsed shortly after take-off.

British paraglider dies after chute collapses
The Sierra de Líjar is a popular spot for paragliding. Photo: Tom@Where / Flickr

The 48-year-old with the initials L P, tumbled to the ground just just a few meters after jumping off a hillside when her chute became tangled, witnesses told the rescue team.

“She fell face down in an area that was extremely inaccessible,” one of the rescue team told The Local. “It seemed her chute folded just a few seconds into the flight,” he said.

The alarm was raised at around 2.45 pm on Sunday and a specialist rescue team of firefighters from the CBPC were dispatched to the scene.

But because of the difficult access, the woman’s body was not retrieved until 7pm.

The woman was a resident of La Línea de la Concepción, the town on the border with Gibraltar, and regularly went paragliding in the Algodonales region of Cadiz, Andalusia.

A spokesman from the British Embassy confirmed the death. “We have been informed of the death of a British national in the Cadiz area on June 21st and are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”

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PARACHUTE

Swedish woman killed in Norway Base jumping accident

A 30-year-old Swedish woman has died attempting a Base jump off Norway’s 800m Katthammaren precipice.

Swedish woman killed in Norway Base jumping accident
Katthammaren is advertised by the local Møre og Romsdal county as a base jumping location. Photo: Møre og Romsdal County
The woman was on holiday with two other Swedes in Norway’s Eikesdalen valley when the parachute accident happened. 
 
“The jump didn’t go as it should have and she fell from 800m,” Erik Mikalsen, from the local Romsdal police, told Sweden’s Expressen newspaper. “We are in the process of investigating the reason for the accident.” 
 
The emergency services were called at around 5pm on Saturday, but a rescue tea did not manage to get down to the woman’s body until four hours later, because difficult terrain made it impossible for an ambulance helicopter to land close to the woman. 
 
“We sent down climbers so we could carry her back,” Mikalsen said. 
 
The woman was flown to hospital in Molde where she was confirmed dead at around 10pm. 
 
Base jumping, sometimes written BASE jumping or B.A.S.E jumping, is parachuting or flying with a wing suit from a high building or cliff. The word is an acronym standing for  Building, Antenna, Span, and Earth (a cliff), the four categories of object from which it is permitted to jump. 
 
Katthammaren’s spectacular surroundings and towering, sharp precipice have made it a popular site for Base jumping enthusiasts, who have uploaded a large number of videos up on YouTube. 
 
 
In 2009, 49 jumpers set what was then the world Base jumping record by leaping simultaneously from the cliff.  In 2016 another foreign Base jumper died in an accident at the site. 
 
 
 
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