2 Skydivers Killed After Midair Collision in Arizona

Two skydivers were killed Tuesday when they collided mid-air during a jump over Eloy, Ariz., officials said.

One skydiver was pronounced dead on the scene and the other died at a local hospital, Eloy Police Sgt. Brian Jerome said in a statement. Police have not released the identities of the victims.

Witnesses told police that the two skydivers collided in mid-air with their parachutes open approximately 200 to 300 feet above the ground, Jerome said. Following the collision, their parachute canopies collapsed and both individuals plummeted to the ground, according to Jerome.

A third skydiver also suffered injuries, but police said it was not related to or caused by the collision between the other two skydivers.

The collision occurred around 4:51 p.m. local time at Skydive Arizona, a training facility that operates out of the Eloy Municipal Airport, about 60 miles south of Phoenix.

The cause of the collision is under investigation, Jerome said.

Skydive Arizona opened in 1978 and averages over 135,000 jumps per year, according to their website.

Last weekend, 63 women set the world record for an all-female mass-formation jump over Eloy. The women jumped head-first out of a plane and joined hands 18,000 feet up in a vertical formation, said Nancy Koreen, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Parachute Association. They all landed safely.