Skydiver dies when chute fails to open; no one notices for over a week

If you wonder why the "buddy rule" exists, here's your answer. Experienced skydiver Mark van den Boogaard jumped with Nationaal Paracentrum — the largest skydiving club in the Netherlands — but when his parachute didn't open, no one noticed. And when he didn't check in afterward, no one noticed. In fact, no one noticed van de Boogard's dead body for almost a week until a group of hunters discovered it in a field. "We never check [to see if the jump was completed]; there is no law," Paracentrum's manager said. "You can call all the emergency rescue teams, then discover the person is sitting at home having tea with his granddad." If only he'd been so lucky. [Source]

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