2 skydivers killed in Rosharon after parachutes entangle

Two Houston-area skydivers died Wednesday when their parachutes became entangled in Brazoria County, authorities said.

The two apparently crashed into each other about 11:40 a.m., after jumping from an airplane from Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon, Brazoria County sheriff's deputies said.

Scott James, 27, of Houston and Arthur Bill, 63, of Spring were killed. Witnesses told deputies the skydivers fell several hundred feet. Their tangled parachutes did not inflate, officials said.

Other skydivers at the scene gave first aid until paramedics arrived, officials said.

James died at the scene, the Associated Press reported. Bill was taken by helicopter ambulance to Memorial Hermann Hospital — where he was later pronounced dead, Brazoria County sheriff's deputies said.

Officials with the skydiving company could not be reached for comment.

In March 2008, a student at Skydive Spaceland plunged to his death when his parachute failed to open.

Rex Williams, 59, was making his ninth parachute jump when neither his primary nor reserve parachute deployed.

Scott Bell, an employee at Skydive Spaceland, died four months earlier when his parachute apparently malfunctioned.

The investigation into Wednesday's deaths is continuing, officials said.

mike.glenn@chron.com