Edmonton-area man dies during national skydiving championships in Westlock

File photo.

A 60-year-old Edmonton-area man has died during an incident at the national skydiving championships being held north of the city.

The incident happened Saturday during the final day of the competition in Westlock.

RCMP said they were called out to the area around 6 p.m. after the man was unable to deploy his parachute.

“From our ground evidence and what we observed, the moment the parachute had deployed it would appear that he made no attempts to fly, steer or control the parachute,” president of Edmonton Skydive Al Christou explained.

Three medics were on hand and a local doctor also showed up but the man was declared dead at the scene.

Sgt. Steve Vince said the military has been called in to help with the investigation.

“In these sorts of situations we do require on the military and their expertise in terms of parachutes and jumping from aircrafts.”

Those from Edmonton Skydive, where the incident took place, said the man was an experienced skydiver.

“Which lead us to believe that he was most likely incapacitated for potentially health reasons,” Christou said.

The man’s identity has not been released but those in the skydiving community said he will be missed.

“He was extremely well-known and well-respected and well-loved. Obviously it is a deep scar in the community,” Joey Allan from Edmonton Skydive said.

With files from Amanda Anderson