Mother of eight one of three skydivers killed at Mission Beach in tragic accident
Mission Beach mother of eight Kerri Pike, 50, has been confirmed as one of three victims in a freak skydiving accident in Northern Queensland.
Her parachute became tangled on descent and she crashed into a tree along with her experienced tandem instructor, news.com.au has reported.
The skydive was a 50th birthday present from her family.
Mrs Pike's husband is former Cassowary Coast councillor Alister Pike.
A third victim, a highly experienced tandem jumper who had completed thousands of successful jumps, was found dead at a nearby property after skydiving solo.
Police believe the solo skydiver may have collided with the tandem skydivers in mid-air, with their parachutes failing to open properly.
An eyewitness told The Cairns Post newspaper he could do nothing as he watched the incident unfold on Friday afternoon.
"You could see one chute was tangled and it wasn't opening," said the unnamed man.
"I was just watching him in free fall until he went behind the trees, and that was the last I saw.
"It wasn't good to watch. I had my heart in my mouth."
Queensland Ambulance Service operations supervisor Neil Noble said the skydivers' injuries were so severe they were pronounced dead at the scene.
Mission Beach, located between Cairns and Townsville, is a regular skydiving spot for tourists.
The company operating the dives, Skydive Australia, released a statement on Friday offering its "deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences" to the families of the deceased and to the local skydiving community.
Skydiving activities have been temporarily suspended and the Australian Parachute Federation is reportedly sending representatives north from Brisbane to investigate.
