Breaking their silence after the fourth parachutist death in three years, Alvor’s Skydive Algarve has revealed that the latest fatality – like all the other tragedies since October 2012 – was “an experienced qualified jumper” – in this case “with 270 dives in total” behind him.
Contrary to initial press reports describing the 33-year-old as a 45-year-old Briton, Skydive Algarve informs he was an Indian national.
But other than that, the press release – coming four days after the death during the ongoing Autumn Boogie Festival – says very little.
The text ran that the jumper died “following serious injuries sustained from a bad landing incident on Sunday, October 11”, giving no indication as to what lay behind the incident.
Portuguese press reports have alluded to ‘wind’.
Wind has been cited in two of the other deaths, while the first death – of a local resident and businessman – has never fully been explained.
A spokesperson for Skydive has stressed to the Resident that the company only takes people ‘up’ when conditions are right.
For now, we know nothing more about the dead man, and there is no reference to the incident on the Skydive Algarve Facebook page.
natasha.donn@algarveresident.com
