Death of skydiver, 30, at Jurien Bay rocks popular WA tourist town

A man has died in a skydiving accident in Western Australia after his parachute failed to deploy properly.

Police say the 30-year-old man died at the scene in Jurien Bay, 220 kilometres north of Perth, yesterday afternoon.

He was with friends competing in the Virtual Nationals Skydiving Competition, a week long competition being held in several locations across Australia.

A local skydiving company confirmed the man was a foreign national who was doing a solo jump.

In a statement, Skydive Jurien Bay co-owner Christine Sparrow said the man was competing in the wingsuit event.

“This is a terrible day for the skydiving community,” she said.

“We have never had a fatality in the 10 years we have operated the business here in Jurien Bay, or in previous skydiving operations.

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Dandaragan Shire president Leslee Holmes said the tragedy had devastated the coastal town.

“The (man) who unfortunately who lost his life was a veteran of skydiving, 6,000 jumps,” she said.

Ms Holmes said she understood the man was using his own equipment.

Jurien Bay is a popular tourist location, well known for its skydiving, with conditions allowing for jumps all year round.

“The first responders, and the (people) who had to witness this, it must be absolutely chilling,” Ms Holmes said.

“For the town of Jurien Bay and the Shire of Dandaragan, this is our premium business, we attract so many people to the town.”

In a Statement, the Australian Parachute Federation chief executive officer Richard McCooey said the man’s death would be thoroughly investigated.

“Regardless of the level of experience involved, safety is paramount and we take the incident very seriously,” he said.

The APF said a full investigation would be conducted to identify the most likely cause and contributing factors.

A coronial inquiry will be held into the man’s death.