MESQUITE, Nev. — Two people suffered serious injuries after their parachutes became entangled near the end of their sky diving jump at approximately 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Mesquite, Nev., airport.  The entanglement resulted in both jumpers free-falling the final 20-30 feet to the ground.

As luck would have it, both jumpers narrowly missed a medical helicopter which is based at the airport, Mesquite Fire and Rescue Capt. John Gately said in a statement. The jumpers landed approximately 20 feet from the aircraft, but still on its helipad.

This landing spot enabled the nurse and the paramedic from the flight crew to immediately begin rendering aid while waiting for additional assistance from Mesquite Fire and Rescue Paramedics.

One patient was transported directly to the University Medical Center Trauma Center in Las Vegas, while the second jumper was initially taken to Mesa View Regional Hospital for evaluation and to check for internal injuries. The second jumper had a fractured arm and was also later transferred to UMC Trauma for specialized trauma care, Gately said

While both jumpers injuries are considered serious, they were both awake and talking which is thankfully much less severe than initially reported, Gately said. The initial dispatch information advised that CPR was being performed on one patient and that both were unconscious.

An initial investigation will be conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure all flight regulations were followed throughout the jump and to try and determine if the parachutes were packed appropriately which is standard practice with this kind of incident.  The initial findings of that investigation are not known at this time.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by the authorities and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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