Skydiving horror as married dad dies after ‘losing grip’ and smashing into ground

The adrenaline junkie and dad had celebrated his 46th birthday just days before he died in a tragic skydiving accident, leaving behind his child and his wife.

A married bodybuilder dad has died in a horrifying skydiving crash^[1] after slamming into the ground at high speed when he lost his grip.

Marcelo Levy Garisio Sartori, 46, was seen making a low-altitude turn before smashing violently into the ground in Boituva, São Paulo state, on August 29. He was rushed to the hospital but tragically could not be saved^[2].

It’s not yet clear what caused the seasoned skydiver to suddenly change direction. Experts believe he may have lost his grip on one of the parachute handles, leaving his wife and child without a husband and a dad.^[3]

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Marcelo, a lawyer and managing partner at a São Paulo law firm, had just celebrated his birthday days earlier. The dad-of-one was a seasoned thrill-seeker with a Category D licence and more than 2,000 jumps under his belt.

His pal Douglas Gomes said: “He was obsessed with skydiving and took part in every competition he could. Adrenaline, freedom – that was Marcelo. He was always there for friends, through both happy and difficult times.” Tributes have poured in for the bodybuilding enthusiast, who leaves behind a wife and daughter.

Investigators confirmed his equipment was in perfect working order as they continue to probe the tragedy. It comes as an 11-year-old girl has died after being found unresponsive^[6] in a swimming pool on holiday in Spain.

Francesca Mae Blease was found in a hotel pool in Fuerteventura, a coroner’s court^[7] heard. The young girl, from Crewe, Cheshire, was discovered in the swimming pool on the island on August 7.

Coroner’s officer Paul Downey said Francesca was taken to a hospital in Gran Canaria and died on August 8, when her life support machine was switched off. Coroner Victoria Davies said given there was an unnatural cause of death, it was appropriate for her to formally open an inquest, which will be held on January 27.

It comes after a five-year-old British girl, found unconscious in a swimming pool during a family holiday, tragically passed away.

The youngster was rushed to the Maternal and Child University Hospital of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, but the child suffered ‘irreversible brain death’ following her submersion in the pool. She has not yet been named.