A British skydiver has died after his parachute failed to open while he was jumping in the French Alps.
David Reader, 25, was base jumping near Sallanches near Mount Blanc on 7 August when he hit the ground after his parachute ceased to open.
Reader, from Newnham in Gloucestershire, suffered a severe head injury and multiple injuries to his body. Reader died at a hospital in the nearby town of Annecy on 8 August.
His girlfriend, Domi Kiger, paid tribute to Reader and said he was “the most incredible human being” she had ever met.
“The type you don't necessarily notice straight away, the best type in my eyes,” she wrote in a Facebook post. “He was kind, humble, gentle, incredibly smart, talented in absolutely everything he put his mind into. Bright in so many ways. He was quiet and reserved but so warm, loving and fun to those who took the time to get to know him. He was wise beyond his years."
“He was ambitious in a good way, wanting to make a difference in the flying industry, and make the world a better place. I know he would have. We felt like we found each other's match, brain, body and soul. The same appetite for life, the same curiosity and ambition to always better ourselves, to constantly learn, grow and explore together.”
Reader worked as a wind tunnel instructor for a Norweigan indoor skydiving company called VossVind.
“We are all extremely sad and devastated over the loss of our dear David Reader. It is unreal, this was not supposed to happen,” a spokesperson for VossVind wrote on Facebook. “Dave came to VossVind about 4 years ago. During these years he had an incredible development as a tunnel flyer that impressed each and everyone of us.”
“We were lucky to have him as an instructor. He learnt Norwegian in no time, it seemed that anything he wanted to do, he could.”
Reader was cremated in Annecy last Thursday and a memorial service will be held in Gloucester on Saturday.
