Brit & instructor hit ground at 45mph after chute failed

A BRITISH tourist miraculously survived after plunging from 11,000ft when his parachute failed while skydiving in the US.

- BY HOLLIE BONE

Mitchell Deakin, 25, was doing a tandem jump with an instructor over the Nevada desert before they struck the ground at around 45mph.

Witnesses said a backup parachute kept the main chute from fully opening, causing the pair to spin out of control.

But Mitchell, from Lytham St Annes, Lanes, and his US instructor Jiron Arcos Ponce, 54, survived the fall near Las Vegas on September 17.

Mitchell, known to pals as Mitch, suffered horrific injuries including a fractured pelvis, broken ribs, perforated lung and a damaged kidney.