Authorities are investigating after both skydivers were critically injured near a Riverside County skydiving center and later died at a hospital.
LAKE ELSINORE, CA — Two skydivers died Friday after an air emergency during a jump in Lake Elsinore, where emergency crews found both people on the ground with major injuries before they were taken to a hospital, authorities said.
Riverside County sheriff’s deputies responded at about 11:47 a.m. Nov. 6 to the 20000 block of Cereal Street after receiving a report of an air emergency. Firefighters also responded to the area near Corydon Road, where the two skydivers were receiving medical care. Both were transported by ground ambulance in critical condition and later pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported.
Some reports citing fire officials and witnesses described the incident as a midair collision as the skydivers descended. Witness accounts reported by local media placed the apparent collision about 50 feet above the ground. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, however, had not publicly detailed exactly what happened in the air or announced an official cause as of Friday night.
Lt. Deirdre Vickers, a Riverside County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, told the Los Angeles Times that deputies had responded to the reported air emergency shortly before noon. Vickers declined to elaborate on what may have caused the incident and said the investigation remained underway. The sheriff’s office said no additional details about the circumstances were immediately available.
The Riverside County Fire Department said the two skydivers suffered traumatic or major injuries. Their names, ages and hometowns had not been released as of Friday night. Authorities also had not said whether the two were experienced skydivers, students or instructors, or whether they had been participating in the same maneuver before the emergency.
The incident occurred in the area of Skydive Elsinore, a skydiving operation at the south end of Lake Elsinore. City News Service reported that a company representative declined to comment on the incident and said operations had been shut down for the day. Authorities had not announced whether the skydiving center itself was under investigation or whether its operations played any role in the deaths.
Reports differed slightly on the precise street address, with sheriff’s officials referring to the 20000 block of Cereal Street and fire-related reports placing the response in the 20700 block. Both descriptions refer to the same general area near the skydiving facility. Investigators had not released information about the aircraft involved in the jump, the skydivers’ equipment or whether their parachutes had deployed normally.
Strong winds were observed in parts of the Inland Empire on Friday, and some news reports noted northeast wind gusts in the region. Authorities had not established that wind contributed to the incident. Video from the area also showed windy conditions after the emergency, but officials had not identified weather as a cause or contributing factor.
Friday’s deaths came several months after another fatal skydiving incident elsewhere in Riverside County. On May 28, one skydiver died and another was critically injured near Skydive Perris. The three people involved in that jump were described by the operator as experienced friends visiting from overseas, and the company said at the time that two of them appeared to have collided during freefall. That case was separate from Friday’s incident in Lake Elsinore.
The Lake Elsinore investigation remained active Friday night. Authorities had not released the identities of the two people who died or announced a final determination about what caused the emergency. Additional information was expected after investigators reviewed the circumstances surrounding the jump and relatives were notified.
Author note: Last updated Nov. 6, 2026.