Parasailing Death in Florida Prompts Calls for Regulation
A woman in Florida was killed after her harness failed while parasailing with her husband, who watched as she fell several hundred feet to the waters below.
Local authorities stated that Kathleen Miskell, 28, was parasailing with her husband, Stephen in Pompano Beach, Fla. Wednesday afternoon when the harness she was using failed, causing her to fall 200 feet into the ocean below, firefighters told the Miami Herald.
A Pompano Beach spokeswoman explained that the parasailing boat circled back towards her after they had reeled in her husband. When the boat made it to her location, they said that she was floating face down in the water.
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The crew told authorities that when they reached her she was in cardiac arrest. The captain of the boat performed CPR until paramedics arrived, and they transported her to North Broward Health Center where she was pronounced dead.
The couple was from Wethersfield, Conn., where Kathleen Miskell worked for the school system and her husband own a tiling company, friends told The Miami Herald.
"They were very nice friendly people," Kristy Pierce, a Connecticut neighbor, told The Sun Sentinel. "They moved in a few months ago."
"I actually just brought some cupcakes over to them when they first moved in and they were very excited, very friendly. They invited us over," she added.
The parasailing company, Wave Blast Water Sports, which operates out of the Sands Hotel, has not released a statement for the incident.
This is not the first time a person has died while parasailing and has prompted calls for stricter oversight of the activity.
In 2007, Amber White, 15, was tandem parasailing with her sister Crystal when a gust of wind snapped their tether and sent the girls crashing onto a roof of a nearby hotel. Crystal suffered head and face injuries.
An investigation showed the boat operator ignored warnings about an approaching thunderstorm, according to The Sun Sentinel.
