Woman dies after parachute fails to open during sky dive

Police say the 49-year-old from Hebburn was injured after the parachute failed to open.Durham Constabulary say she was found in an area close to Shotton airfield, from which the plane she had been travelling in had set ott.Police and paramedics, along with the Great North Air Ambulance, were called to the scene at about 3.45pm.The victim, from Hebburn, was airlifted to the James Cook Memorial Hospital in Middlesbrough, where she died this evening.An investigation involving Durham Constabulary, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the British Parachute Association is underway.The coroner has been informed and a post mortem examination will be carried out in due course.Detective Inspector Dave Cuthbert said: “This is a tragic incident. The lady who has died was using her own equipment and was making her first sky dive in this country, having previously made parachute jumps abroad. “We will be working with the HSE and the British Parachuting Association to establish why this tragedy happened.”