The father of a 28-year-old tourist who died parasailing in Pompano Beach on Wednesday talked about the accident with Local 10.
Kathleen Miskell, 28, was parasailing with her husband Stephen when she fell. Firefighters said her harness broke, dropping her 150 feet into the water.
Miskell was taken to North Broward Medical Center after she and her husband were brought to shore. She was pronounced dead at the hospital. Stephen Miskell was not injured. The two were visiting South Florida from Connecticut.
On Thursday, James Mulchay, her father, was trying to make sense of the tragedy.
"Thinking of Kathleen and thinking of Stephen. That's what we are thinking of," said Mulchay. "One of the greatest people that ever walked the face of the Earth. Happy, good natured, positive thinking, hard working, fun person."
Mulchay said his son-in-law has barely spoken about the accident.
The company that took the couple out is Waveblast Water Sports, based in the Sands Hotel in Pompano Beach. A spokesperson offered no comment but said the incident was under investigation.
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"We're going to do a methodical check of each and every part of the harness, the parachutes, the ropes, just to try to come to a better, clearer picture of what exactly occurred," said Jorge Pino with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. "Ultimately, our goal is to come up with a conclusion as to why this happened, and learn from this so this won't happen again."
The is the second fatal parasailing accident in the area in the last five years. Other operators said enough is enough.
"Devastating. It is a tragedy. It should have never happened," said Michael Slotnick, a boat captain who works for Aloha Watersports.