Two people have died after their parachutes became tangled during a jump in Nottinghamshire.


Brian Laithwaite and Emma Bramley

Brian Laithwaite, 65, and 31-year-old Emma Bramley had been parachuting at Langar Airfield on Friday afternoon when the accident happened.

Both had been using separate parachutes when they became tangled, causing them to plummet to the ground.

Police described the pair as experienced parachutists, an investigation has been launched by Nottinghamshire Police.

A police spokeswoman said: "Their deaths are not believed to be suspicious."

Ms Bramley and Mr Laithwaite were part of a 14-strong group which had set off on Friday afternoon in a Cessna plane from the airfield.

They had flown to 13,500ft before Ms Bramley and Mr Laithwaite jumped out in a six-man group to perform a number of formations above the ground.

Organisers said the plan had been to split off at between 2,800ft and 3,500ft so that each jumper could deploy their parachute safely in space.

It was then that Ms Bramley deployed her main parachute and it became tangled with Mr Laithwaite's body.

He remained above her, with his own canopy fully open as they fell towards the ground, at what is thought to have been a survivable speed.

Onlookers on the ground saw the drama unfolding and hoped both would only suffer injuries, but said that at about 100ft they seemed to accelerate through the air and both were killed once they landed.

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