British skydiver survives 1000m plunge

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A British skydiver has suffered only a broken ankle after plunging 1,067 metres to the ground following a parachutes failure.

Zoe Sievwright, 29, was found in a boggy field without serious injury after her solo dive, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.

Her first parachute failed to open properly and a reserve chute became tangled in the first, leaving Ms Sievwright to spiral to the earth in front of horrified onlookers.

"I was searching for toggles to pull but there weren't any," Ms Sievwright told the Mail.

"The next thing I looked at the ground and that was it.

"I just thought that was it because there was nothing else I could do. I didn't think I was going to make it - I thought I was dead. I braced for impact and I don't really remember what happened after that. There was a bit of a shock but I didn't black out."

Skydive operators said the reserve chute was successfully deployed but that Ms Sievwright had failed to release the steering toggles and other equipment associated with the main chute, causing the tangle.

- AAP