Twenty-one-year-old TikTok influencer and a finalist in the 2017 Miss Canada beauty pageant Tanya Pardazi died in her first solo skydive, according to reports. The tragic accident occurred when Pardazi failed to open her parachute early enough on her dive.
“A skydiving student aged 21 succumbed to fatal injuries obtained by an emergency situation,” a statement from Skydive Toronto confirmed. “The skydiver released a quickly rotating main parachute at a low altitude without the time / altitude required for the reserve parachute to inflate.
“The team at Skydive Toronto is currently working with the South Simcoe Police on their investigation.
“The jumper was a welcomed recent addition to the skydiving community and will be missed among the student’s new friends and fellow jumpers of Skydive Toronto Inc.
“The team at Skydive Toronto Inc has been profoundly affected by this accident as they have refined their student training program for over 50 years.”
Pardazi was studying philosophy at the University of Toronto and ran a successful TikTok account with more than 100,000 followers.
At this time the investigation is ongoing and it is unclear why her parachute didn’t work, why her reserve didn’t deploy, or why she allegedly failed to deploy it early in her dive.
Pardazi was immediately transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Skydivers must do a series of qualified tandem jumps before being allowed to do a solo dive. Pardazi also finished a day of ground school before attempting her first solo dive.
“Tanya had an interest in anything that was new and adventurous,” her childhood friend Melody Ozgoli told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday. “Life was too boring for her and she was always trying to do something adventurous.”
Pardazi’s fans have flooded her social media pages with condolences.
“Rest in Peace my friend,” one fan wrote. “I’m sorry you were taken from us so soon. I hope afterlife is all that you imagined and more, until we meet again.”
Another added, “I literally cannot believe she’s gone. I’ve never met her but she’s a huge inspiration for me.”
“She really lived every second to the fullest,” Ozgoli said. “This is the biggest shock to us. It’s very hard to process. It’s been a couple of days, but we still don’t even believe it.”
According to the United States Parachute Association, in 2021 they recorded 10 fatal skydiving accidents — the lowest year on record — a rate of 0.28 fatalities per 100,000 jumps. This is comparable to 2020, where participants made fewer jumps — 2.8 million — and USPA recorded 11 fatalities, a rate of 0.39 per 100,000.
Given the danger involved with jumping out of a plane, it is still a relatively safe activity. Hang gliding, scuba diving, motorcycle racing and canoeing reportedly all carry higher risks.
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