A man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a woman’s parachute failed to open during a 4,000ft skydive and she plummeted to the ground.

The experienced 39-year-old parachutist deployed her reserve parachute, which also failed to open fully, sustaining numerous serious fractures from her jump above Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, on Sunday.

A 35-year-old man was arrested by Wiltshire Police on suspicion of attempted murder and has been bailed to return at a later date.

Officers were first alerted by the parachute club, near at Netheravon Airfield, Netheravon, who were concerned about the chute’s deployment.

Detective Inspector Paul Franklin said: “This woman would have been dead if her chute hadn’t partially opened, this meant her descent was slowed enough for her to survive the fall.”

He continued: “we are looking for ‘slinks’ that were missing from the parachute which may have been removed and discarded somewhere.

The police spokesperson added: “This woman survived this fall miraculously but despite her experience she very nearly lost her life.”

She has subsequently been discharged from Southampton Hospital but has multiple fractures throughout her body.