Info's of

26-year-old Ramya fell to death after parachute did not open
properly
V. Ramya, a 26-year-old woman from Paviya Nagar in Bangalore,
plunged to death as the parachute did not open properly during
skydiving here on Thursday.
The police said the aircraft from which she jumped was about
10,000 feet above Potiyapuram village near Salem airport at
Kamalapuram, 22 km from Salem City.
Vinod (29), a businessman, watched helplessly as his wife plunged
to death, said the Omalur Police, who are investigating the case.
He was set to dive next. Ramya suffered multiple fractures and was
rushed to a private hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
After preliminary investigations, the police said Ramya was
supposed to open the parachute when she was 6,000 feet above the
ground. But, it appeared she attempted to open it, but it did not
open properly and she hit the ground three km from the airport,
the police said.
Airport officials said the event was organised by a Bangalore-based
Indian Skydiving and Parachute Association (ISPA) from January
25.
Executive secretary of the association Ankitha Ashok Kumar (28)
was arrested. Trainers G. Mohan Rao and B. Aishwarya Yadav and
member N. Rajesh have been picked up for questioning.
A case has been registered under Section 304 (culpable homicide
not accounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
One of the participants Aswath Narayanan (26) of Krishnagiri said
that participants were given a ground training on the first day,
followed by the first stage of diving in which the skydivers had to
dive from a height of 3,000 feet.
“Ramya was among those who were successful at this stage on
Saturday and were allowed to skydive from 10,000 feet on
Thursday,” he added. The police quoted the victim’s husband as
saying that there was nobody from the ground to instruct Ramya
(who even had a micro headphone inside her helmet). He alleged
that it was one of the main reasons behind the death of his wife.
However, it is suspected that the parachute could have spun
around her due to heavy air pressure at that height, police said.
Sub Collector of Mettur Aneesh Sekhar, who conducted an inquiry,
said that Ramya and the two trainers jumped from the aircraft at
the same time. “While the parachutes of the trainers opened,
Ramya’s did not open properly. She landed on an agricultural field.
Farmers working on the nearby fields said that she was struggling
for her life for sometime,” he told The Hindu.
Superintendent of Police R. Sakthivel said it was the responsibility
of the organisers to give proper training for the participants and to
ensure that the parachute was in good condition. He said the
arrested trainers claimed that one of them tried to rescue Ramya
by instructing her to open the second parachute. But, she was not
able to follow their instructions.
Mr. Vinod said all the 11 persons who participated in the event
were inexperienced. “Skydiving is an expensive sport and it is the
duty of the organisers to ensure that all safety arrangements are
made. Negligence on the part of the organisers cost her life”, he
lamented.
On the legality of the whole event, the Sub Collector said it was
organised from January 24 to February 2 after obtaining
permission from the authorities concerned.