2 Skydivers Die in Accident Near Nevada-Ariz. Line

Officials say two skydivers died near the Nevada-Arizona border Sunday after their parachute failed to open.

Police in Mesquite, Nev., say the instructor and student were on a tandem jump before noon when their main parachute failed.

Mesquite police spokesman Jeffrey Smith says the instructor tried to deploy a backup chute, but it only partially opened and didn’t do enough to slow the pair before they hit the runway at Mesquite Municipal Airport. Authorities have not released the names of the victims.

Smith says the 75-year-old female student was transported to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Smith says the 60-year-old instructor had been skydiving for 30 years and had completed more than 11,000 successful jumps.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the accident.