A British man has died while skydiving in Thailand after having a suspected heart attack.
James McConnell, 69, originally from Dunbartonshire, was jumping with friends in the resort town of Pattaya on Thursday when he landed in a reservoir.
A spokesman for the Thai Sky Adventures skydiving centre told the BBC that McConnell may have had a heart attack or a stroke as he left the plane. It described him as a regular skydiver who was a “lovely man”.
In a post on Facebook, McConnell’s son Mark McConnell wrote: “It is with a heavy heart that I have to tell my Facebook friends and family that my dad Jim McConnell has sadly passed away.
“As soon as I can confirm what happened I will let you know but for now, the family and I would appreciate privacy at this difficult time. Blue skies to you all xxx.
“All of you who knew my Dad will know that he went the way he wanted and no-one should feel sad, fly free my hero xx.”
A Thai Sky Adventures spokesman told BBC Radio Scotland: “Beyond a shadow of a doubt Jim either had a heart attack or a stroke during the jump.
“Obviously we coordinate with the local authorities to make sure that there’s a thorough investigation carried out into any incident.
“We have a laid-down procedure as to how to proceed – of looking at any video available, of interviewing eyewitnesses, getting statements from everybody – but there is no doubt in anybody’s mind that there was a medical issue which is the cause of this incident.”
The spokesman said people got to McConnell within minutes and carried out CPR, but he was not breathing.
“Part of our investigation looked at where the people got out of the aeroplane and was there any reason for him to land on a reservoir,” he said. “The other jumpers said ‘No’, they all exited the aeroplane in the perfect place, they opened their parachutes right above the drop zone, everybody landed safely.
“The reason that Jim didn’t land safely is that he was unconscious or certainly semi-conscious.”
He said McConnell had lived in Thailand for 19 years and would sometimes work overseas. “He would come back at weekends or when he had free time, he would come to the centre. He was a regular jumper, a lovely man.”
According to news website Khaosod, Col Chonnapat Nawalak, of Nong Kham police in Chonburi, said police were still checking the cause of his death. “He jumped from the plane and landed in the water, so we have to check whether he died from the jumping or from drowning,” he said.
A spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Thailand. We are in contact with the Thai police.”
