Holidaymaker falls to his death on parachute jump 'after fainting'

A British tourist has died in a parachuting tragedy in Spain after apparently blacking out on his first solo jump.

Andrew Bearne, 39, died after crash-landing despite the attempts of two fellow Britons to revive him.

Two ambulances and a helicopter rushed to the scene but he was pronounced dead before arriving at hospital.

A judge is overseeing an investigation into Wednesday's tragedy near Toledo in central Spain.

An autopsy will establish the cause of death. But it is believed he may have lost consciousness on his way down.

A spokeswoman for the Airelibre parachuting school said Mr Bearne's chute had opened and he had been following radio instructions until he was just under 1,000 feet from the ground.

The spokeswoman said: 'Andrew Bearne suffered an accident on landing and made no attempt to break.

'He was doing his first solo jump, accompanied by two British instructors, who informed that the freefall was correct and the student opened his parachute as planned.

'Once on the ground, one of the instructors gave instructions to the student - who was still in the air - over the radio in order to help his landing.

'The student was following all the instructions given, until an altitude of 300 meters.

'From then on he failed to follow the instructions, for unknown reasons.'

Officers from the Civil Guard found his equipment and radio in fully working order.

The mayor of the nearby town of Ocana, Javier Martinez, said: 'The signs point to a possible heart attack'.

Mr Bearne, who was staying in a hotel in Madrid, is thought to have previously undertaken several tandem jumps strapped onto an instructor.

Two years ago mother-of-four Anna Endicott, 31, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, Bristol, died when she collided with her instructor in the same area of Spain.