Boyfriend filmed skydive death

The daughter of newsreader Carol Barnes was filmed by her boyfriend as they skydived together moments before she plunged to her death in Australia.

The full horror of her final moments emerged today as it was revealed that she got tangled up with her main parachute at 4,000ft.

People on the ground saw her desperately try to free herself as she fell. Her reserve chute opened automatically at 750ft but it got wrapped around the main chute and could not save her.

When boyfriend Chris McDougall landed he stayed with her shattered body for more than half an hour, holding her hand until an ambulance arrived.

He had filmed the opening sequence of the formation jump to compile a video celebrating what would have been 24-year-old Miss Barnes's 200th leap. It has now emerged that the parachute club which organised the jump was being investigated for breaches of safety rules.

Miss Barnes, daughter of government minister Denis MacShane, set off with Mr McDougall, 26, and seven other friends on Sunday.

"It should have been one of the best days of Clare's life. Making your 200th jump is a big landmark," explained Luke McWilliam, boss of the Skydive City Club, of which she had been a member for two years.

He added: "Instead, it ended in a freak accident that none of us can come to terms with yet."

Mr McDougall, a former Australian skydiving champion nick-named "Doogs", had a video camera strapped to the back of his hand to film the formation jump as the nine skydivers leapt out at 14,000 feet and joined hands in a circle over the town of Barwon Heads, north-west of Melbourne.

He kissed Miss Barnes in mid-air. After the group broke formation at around 4,000 feet and floated apart from each other she suddenly disappeared from view. Instead of opening out the parachute wrapped around her body.

Mr McWilliam added: "It was a totally freak accident. Modern parachutes are supposed to be failsafe. Clare packed her own parachute inside our hangar with the rest of the jumpers."

Mr McDougall was too griefstricken to talk about his ordeal.

"How do you think he feels after seeing his girlfriend die in front of him?" added Mr McWilliam.

"For the moment, he wants to be left to grieve in private."

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority in Australia has been carrying out an investigation since September into the Skydive City Club after fears were raised about the safety of parachutists and aircraft using the airfield where it is based.

Mr McShane and Carol Barnes were flying out to Melbourne to arrange the funeral.