Parachutist killed in tower leap

A female parachutist has fallen to her death in Malaysia after her chute failed to open when she jumped off a tower to practice for a parachuting event, organisers said today. Kylie Tanti Marion, 42, was performing her third jump while practising at...

A female parachutist has fallen to her death in Malaysia after her chute failed to open when she jumped off a tower to practice for a parachuting event, organisers said today.

Kylie Tanti Marion, 42, was performing her third jump while practising at the Alor Setar Tower in northern Malaysia - the second-highest tower in the country - when she plunged to her death, tower management said in a statement.

"I saw her struggling to pull open the parachute but her attempt failed," witness Mohamad Zaidi Zainol Abidin told The Star newspaper.

Marion, an experienced skydiver from Australia, died instantly, according to officials from Telekom Malaysia, which owns the 541ft tower. She was among 24 foreign and local participants preparing for the KL Tower International Jump on October 7, a base-jumping event that began in 2000.

The KL tower is the tallest in Malaysia and ranks 18th in the world.

Management said it had taken all safety measures and would help in any police investigation.

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