Antrim man dies in skydiving accident

A British army spokesman says a Co Antrim man who died at a skydiving centre near Calgary, Alberta, Canada, made numerous successful jumps last week.

‘‘In this case, it’s all gone tragically wrong,’’ Major Paul Barton said.

Stuart James McMaster, aged 20, a ranger with the First Royal Irish Regiment based in Canterbury, Kent, died on Saturday afternoon during a training exercise at the Skydive Ranch.

Witnesses said McMaster ran into trouble when his chute tangled, sending him plummeting to the ground. He was pronounced dead by on-scene paramedics.

British army investigators and Canadian police are conducting investigations.

In the last nine years, four people have died in skydiving accidents at Beiseker, 31 miles northwest of Calgary.

McMaster and about 700 other regiment members had been camping at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright, 181 miles north east of Calgary, since the end of May as part of a six-week live-fire and tactical training excursion.

Training has ceased at the Skydive Ranch pending the outcome of the army’s probe, which will centre on McMaster’s parachute.

It was unknown whether McMaster packed his own or if it was done by someone else.

Skydive Ranch officials, who bill themselves ‘‘first jump specialists’’, hold a training contract with the British army. Officials at the ranch have repeatedly refused comment.

Canadian police were conducting their own query but could not be reached for comment.

McMaster, a native of Ballymena, Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, was scheduled to return to his base in Canterbury at the beginning of July.