Skydiver Left Dead for Days after No One Checks if He Landed Safely

Dutch police are investigating the death of skydiver Mark van den Boogaard after his body lay in a field for more than a week.

We’d assume that if we parachuted out of the sky only to meet our deaths that the company who organized the event would notice.

ANP

But Boodgaard wasn’t reported missing, and no one noticed his disappearance until rabbit hunters discovered his corpse.

His parachute had failed to open during a dive organized by the largest skydiving club in the Netherlands. But a search hadn’t been launched because it’s unusual for skydivers to report back after their jump, according to BBC.

The name of the club is Nationaal Paracentrum .

Nationaal Paracentrum


The manager of the club, in the village of Teuge in Gelderland province, described everyone as being in shock.

The company said divers never check in, and Boogaard was an experienced skydiver. He completed 120 jumps since joining the club in the summer of 2011. The Royal Netherlands Association is examining the equipment to try to work out why neither the main chute nor the reserve chute opened, reports Kenya Daily.

According to Mr. Woerlee of the Nationaal Paracentrum, “There was no system to make sure that a jump be completed safely. We never check and there are no regulations or laws. They have tried it in America and it didn’t work. Sometimes people come back to the club for a chat and a cup of tea. Other times they pack up and leave. If you’re forced to find out where everyone is, there can be drama or nothing.”