AFP
LOS ANGELES-US police on Wednesday identified two skydivers who died after colliding in mid-air during a record parachute jump attempt as a Briton and a German, both described as “highly experienced.” The dead men, taking part in a jump Tuesday involving some 200 people in Arizona, were named as Briton Keiron O’Rourke, 40, and Bernd Schmehl, 51, of Germany. Their parachute canopies collapsed when they collided as they floated down less than 300 feet (91 meters) from the ground, said police in Eloy, 5 miles (105 kilometers) southeast of Phoenix.
The German died at the scene, while O’Rourke was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after the accident at the Skydive Arizona event.