An experienced skydiver on a routine jump has tragically died after several days in intensive care.
The incident took place on October 17, just before 6pm, at Mount Cook, in Pukaki, about 360km south-west of Christchurch in New Zealand.
The man, an experienced cameraman working for Skydive Mt Cook, encountered an unknown problem during his descent.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and the man was taken to Christchurch hospital in a critical condition.
He died on Sunday.
An experienced skydiver on a routine jump has tragically died after several days in intensive care
A company spokesperson said everyone is “devastated by the loss of our dear colleague, and our thoughts are with his family during this time.”
An investigation into the incident ruled out any equipment failures during the accident.
“While this investigation is ongoing, we will continue to work with local authorities and cannot comment further at this time,” the spokesperson said.
The man was not jumping with other customers or passengers when the accident occurred and was performing a routine maneuver.
The St John Ambulance Service reported this Stuff that an ambulance and a helicopter were sent to the scene after the incident.
The company’s website states that specially trained photographers take pictures of passengers while they are thousands of feet in the air.
The man, an experienced cameraman working for Skydive Mt Cook, encountered an unknown problem during his descent
The photographers hang outside the plane and wait for the passenger to dive before joining them by monitoring their movements to take photos.
Skydive Mt Cook offers several tandem skydiving trips, with the most popular skydiving package being the 15,000 foot dive from Mt Cook.
The free-fall dive lasts just over a minute before the parachute deploys, leaving five minutes of flight time to reach land.
The latest incident comes after a 21-year-old man performing commercial photography during a skydiving jump died in March 2021 after just completing three months of work experience at another company, Skydive Tauranga.
Mt Cook has some of the highest mountains in the world and has 23 peaks of 3000 meters high.
The area is visited by tourists for its breathtaking views and alpine activities such as skiing and mountain hiking.