Celeste Ruiz

The Arizona Republic

ELOY, Ariz. — A skydiver was killed here Thursday while her group was attempting to break a world record, officials said.

Authorities responded to a call about a skydiving accident at about 7:42 a.m. MST, according to Eloy Police Sgt. Brian Jerome.

The World Team group of 222 experienced skydivers has been attempting to break a world record this week about 60 miles southeast of Phoenix. Its members represent 28 countries.

Diana Paris, 46, of Berlin died while attempting a free-fall formation, Jerome said. Her husband told police that she had completed 1,500 jumps during her skydiving career.

Skydive Arizona blamed the accident on a malfunctioning parachute released too low to the ground to allow a reserve parachute to fully open. Paris was declared dead at the scene.

Officials continue to investigate the incident, Jerome said.

"It had nothing to do with the size of the group or the aircraft," World Team spokeswoman Gulcin Gilbert said. "It was a malfunction of the parachute."

The World Team was in its seventh day of attempts at the record, according to a blog that Gilbert has been writing for the online Skydive Mag. Members had been preparing since Thursday with "dirt dives," laying out formations and jumping with smaller groups.

Wednesday was the first time all 222 were in the air at about 18,000 feet at the same time, but not all were able to connect for the record, she said. Winds prevented another attempt the same day.

Participants have about 70 seconds to exit their plane, come together in one formation, separate, do another formation, and then pull their parachutes, she said. They are free falling at about 100 mph before they deploy their parachutes.

Participants wear color-coordinated jumpsuits that help the skydivers know where to latch on and contribute to the visual effect.

"There are still some small problems that are being worked out," Sven Mortberg, a captain of one of the sectors of the double-formation dive, said Wednesday. "But we will do it. From this point forward, we could make the record at any jump."

Achieving the record was to have commemorated the 20th anniversary of the group. World Team members have 1.1 million jumps among them, Gilbert has written.

This is not the first time a death has occurred here as part of a record-breaking skydiving effort.

On Dec. 3, two men — Kieron O'Rourke, 40, of the United Kingdom and Bernd Schmehl, 51, of Germany — were killed after they collided in mid-air while attempting a world-record group jump with 200 people. O'Rourke had logged almost 850 jumps, Schmehl had double that amount.

The men were part of a different organization trying to break the world record for most people in a double-formation group jump.

In 2012, the most recent year available, the U.S. had 19 skydiving fatalities in an estimated 3.1 million jumps, according to the United States Parachute Association. In the 1970s, the sport averaged 42.5 fatalities a year.

After Thursday's incident, the World Team parachutists quickly returned to the air to complete a special jump to honor their friend and said they planned to continue their pursuit of the record.

"Our dear friend cannot and will not be replaced," said Gilbert, whose group organized the record attempt. "The group will continue to hold the slot open in the skydiver's honor."

Contributing: The Associated Press