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Welshman Thomas and Spanish teammate Mikel Landa, “This is the first fatality involving a first orientation
who were Team Sky’s joint leaders for the Giro, suffered tandem skydive the company has had in over 40 years of
major time losses after the crash inside the final 15 operation and is an extremely rare incident,” the Sydney
kilometres of the stage from Montenero di Bisaccia to Skydivers centre said on its Facebook page.
Blockhaus. A police motorbike had pulled to the left side “The particular skydive the two men were undertaking
of the road on the approach to the concluding 13.6km was not especially challenging for a highly experienced
ascent of Blockhaus. instructor, who had done nearly 10,000 skydives and had
The peloton was travelling quickly and spread across nearly 30 years experience in the sport,” it said.
the full width of the asphalt and there was nowhere for “Our sympathies go out to the families and friends of
Wilco Kelderman (Team Sunweb) to go. both men as well as those in our skydiving community,”
He hit the stationary bike and tumbled, wiping out the Sydney Skydivers post said.
many of the adjacent Team Sky squad, including Thomas “We are doing our best to ensure any support is
and Landa. provided to our staff, skydivers and those involved at the
“It’s ridiculous. That shouldn’t happen. We were all scene itself.”
racing for the bottom of the climb,” Thomas said. A seven-year-old girl who was one of several children
“Next thing I know someone in front of me hits the at the home had to be counselled after seeing the bodies
motorbike, we go down. My shoulder popped out (of its shortly after the accident.
socket) as well.
“I felt good, then I crashed. That was it. Race over. It’s
really disappointing.”
STADIUM WALL COLLAPSE
KILLS 8 IN SENEGAL

TWO PEOPLE DIE IN TANDEM SKYDIVING A wall collapsed at a football stadium in Senegal in July,
ACCIDENT SOUTH-WEST OF SYDNEY killing eight people and injuring almost 90.
It fell in after fighting began between rival fans and
The final moments before two skydivers jumped to their police responded with tear gas, with a stampede ensuing.
deaths in a tragic accident have been captured on video Stade de Mbour were playing Union Sportive Ouakam
by another parachutist who left the plane seconds before at the Demba Diop stadium in the capital Dakar.
them. The country had suspended all sporting and cultural
The men — an instructor with thousands of hours of events for the rest of the month.
parachuting experience and a Singaporean man in his During the clashes, some fans threw projectiles
20s strapped to him for a tandem jump — were filmed as including stones at others. Pictures circulating online
they lined up at the aircraft’s door. appear to show people scrambling over a low wall amid
The GoPro camera footage captures the high spirits clouds of gas. Passions were high at the game, the
on the flight with the instructor, aged in his 60s, smiling League Cup final.
in anticipation. With the score 1-1 after 90 minutes, Mbour scored
A minute later both men were dead after their chute in the first period of extra time to win 2-1, and violence
failed to open and they landed in the driveway of a rural broke out at the final whistle.
home at Wilton, about 85km south-west of Sydney. There are also suggestions that the stadium itself was
The instructor killed in a tandem skydiving lesson in a poor state of repair.
alongside his student was extremely experienced, having
made more than 10,000 jumps in his 30-year career, AAP
reported.
Investigators are still trying to find out what went RUGBY PLAYERS
wrong in the jump that has been described as “not ‘BURNT BY 3G PITCH’
especially challenging”.
The Sydney-based instructor and the other man in his A Welsh rugby coach has posted photographs on
20s, in Australia on a work visa, were jumping with well- social media of burns his players received playing on an
known company Sydney Skydivers. artificial pitch. Merthyr RFC coach Lee Jarvis said seven

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