Elijah Arranz's family expresses sorrow for 'heroic' instructor
A Canberra family has expressed its sorrow and thanks to an instructor who died trying to save a teenager in a tandem skydive gone horribly wrong.
It's believed 44-year-old Tony Rokov may have heroically broken the fall of the 14-year-old boy, Elijah Arranz, who survived when the pair crash-landed at Goulburn.
Mr Arranz remains in a critical condition after the tragic incident. His family has released a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald noting Mr Rokov's "selfless action" and acknowledged how his years of experience helped their boy.
"He is an incredible hero. We cannot begin to express our thanks and our sorrow to his family," the statement read.
"Anyone who knows Elijah is aware of how determined, disciplined and driven he is and we have faith he will overcome this hurdle as he does with any challenge he faces."
Mr Rokov died, while the teenager was critically injured after they were caught by a sudden gust of wind on Saturday.
Adrenalin Skydive chief instructor Yaakov Bokay said it looked like his colleague had tried to take the impact first.
"It looked like Tony twisted his body so he will get the first impact," Mr Bokay said.
"The pair's canopy opened and the jump seemed normal until a "freak" wind hit just before the landing and smashed them to the ground," he said.
The boy was airlifted to the Sydney Children's Hospital where he remains in an induced coma.
"It was the boy's first skydiving experience and he had been in good hands," Mr Bokay said.
"It's a very freak accident, I was a witness," he said.
Instructor Mr Rokov was a warm and open man who would be hugely missed by friends worldwide.
"Tony was playful and cheeky with his tandem customers. Making them laugh," Mr Bokay said.
"He looked big and intimidating - like an action figure. But in real life he was gentle and soft-hearted.
"Whenever he came to the drop zone he had a big smile on his face."
Mr Bokay said his thoughts were with the injured boy as well as Mr Rokov's wife Samantha and their children.
Mr Rokov spent more than 20 years in the Australian Army, where he ran parachute training programs and was air operations manager for an elite special forces unit.
He trained hundreds of recruits in high risk activities in Australia and overseas, according to his LinkedIn profile, and was
also selected to train members of the French Foreign Legion in parachuting before leaving the army in 2013.
News break – November 24
