2 Skydivers Killed After Parachutes Fail To Open In Tandem Jump

(Reuters) - Two California skydivers died on Saturday when their parachutes failed to open and they landed in a vineyard, the skydiving company’s owner said.

The men, both in their 20s, were found about 10 a.m. near Lodi, about 40 miles south of Sacramento, said Lieutenant Randy Johnson of the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department. The men have not been identified.

Bill Dause, owner of the Parachute Center, in Acampo, said the men jumped in tandem from 13,000 feet and their parachutes had failed to open. They were “freelancers” and neither worked for the company, he said.

“We have no idea what went wrong, other than speculating ... It looks like something went out of sequence,” he said.

Dause said no one from his company had been able to examine the equipment to determine what had gone wrong. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said the accident was under investigation.

(Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by James Dalgleish)