Army Sergeant Held After Wife's Parachute Fails

A British Army sergeant was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after his wife's parachute failed to open during a skydive.

Emile Cilliers, 35, was questioned by police after Victoria Cilliers plummeted 4,000ft to the ground but "miraculously" survived.

Her main parachute did not deploy and her reserve one also failed - but it opened just enough to slow her descent before she crashed.

She suffered multiple serious injuries and very nearly lost her life, Wiltshire Police said.

They said the jump above Salisbury Plain on April 5 should have been "routine" for the 39-year-old experienced parachutist.

But "slinks" or soft links used to connect the canopy to the parachute harness were "missing" and may have been removed, detectives added.

They are now looking for the slinks that could have been discarded somewhere.

South African-born Cilliers, an instructor with the Royal Army Physical Training Corps attached to the Royal Engineers, was arrested for attempted murder and released on bail last week.

Mrs Cilliers, from Amesbury in Wiltshire, is now recovering at home after she was treated at Southampton General Hospital for her wounds.

The day after the crash, the concerned parachute club at Netheravon Airfield alerted police to the rarity of the incident and they began an investigation.

Officers have spoken to many club members, but they still want any other witnesses to come forward.

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.

"However, we were alerted to concerns over what had happened by the parachute club and as a result instigated an investigation."

He added: "In particular, we are looking for 'slinks' that were missing from the parachute which may have been removed and discarded somewhere.

"This woman survived this fall miraculously but despite her experience she very nearly lost her life."