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2 elite skydivers die after chutes get entangled

Two members of an elite skydiving team were killed when their parachutes got entangled at 6,000 feet during a group jump in Northern California.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Two members of an elite skydiving team were killed when their parachutes got entangled at 6,000 feet during a group jump in Northern California.

Bill Dause — owner of the Parachute Center near Lodi — says the men were part of the Red Line jumping team, an eight-member group that was practicing Sunday for the U.S. Parachute Association national skydiving championships next month.

Dause says the team was jumping in close formation when three parachutes became entangled.

One diver was able to separate and safely deploy his chute, another died immediately on hitting the ground, and another died at a hospital.

Authorities have not released their names.

Dause says the two skydivers had each jumped more than 4,000 times.