Zephyrhills, Mar 25 : Two skydivers from Iceland who died during weekend jumps at a popular southwest Florida camp, reportedly failed to deploy their main parachutes, the co-owner of the facility said Sunday.
Deputies found the bodies of a skydiving instructor and a student on Saturday (March 23) after the two didn't return from a jump with a group.
Pasco County sheriff's authorities identified the victims as 41-year-old instructor Orvar Arnarson and 25-year-old student Andrimar Pordarson of Iceland. The men jumped separately, not in tandem.
The fact that the men didn't deploy their main parachutes could mean that they lost altitude awareness and didn't know where they were during the dive, which is unusual, said T.K. Hayes, co-owner of Skydive City.
Both men had backup automatic activation devices, which deploy if the main parachutes are not deployed in time.
Hayes was at the scene with officials Saturday, sorting through the men's gear to determine whether all parts had been functioning properly.
He defended the sport's record although admitted that fatalities were to be expected.
“We have a pretty good safety record. Skydiving as an industry has a very good safety record, and it gets safer every year as we improve our training and our equipment and our sport.
“Again, it's a statistical anomaly, you know. I can almost predict it, unfortunately, when we're due for one, but, it's usually an experienced skydiver,” said Hayes.
The two men had successfully completed two other jumps on Saturday morning with 20 other people. But when they didn't return from their third jump, their disappearance tipped off a search, Pasco County sheriff's spokeswoman Melanie Snow said.
The bodies were discovered by spotters from the air early Saturday evening in woods south of the Zephyrhills Municipal Airport, Snow said.
The victims were part of a group of about 12 who travel from Iceland to Florida every year to jump, Hayes said.
Arnarson, the instructor, had been to the facility before, but Pordarson had not, Hayes said.
The area is a popular destination for skydivers.
Skydive City is a 14-acre (5.7-hectare) property that includes recreational vehicle campgrounds, a bar, cafe and regular shows by a reggae band, according to its website.
Last year across the US, 19 skydivers died out of 3.1 million jumps, according to the United States Parachute Association.
Meanwhile, Icelandic officials said on Sunday that they were still contacting family and friends of the men who died.
“We will assist the families if they request our assistance. I'm not aware of them contacting us,” said Urdur Gunnarsdottir, press officer for the Foreign Ministry of Iceland.
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