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May 31 2008

Skydivers hurt in Spain air crash

SCI-TECH

By Agencies

The skydivers had shot over Madrid on Thursday for an advertisement for Britain's Channel 4 television [EPA]

Nine skydivers jumped free of their aircraft before it crashed to earth in in central Spain, killing the pilot and another of their companions, according to local authorities.

Four of the surviving parachutists were hurt in the fall, two of them seriously, a spokeswoman for the regional government of Toledo said on Saturday.

She said the cause of Friday's accident was not yet known and that the crash was being investigated.

The aircraft, a Swiss-built Pilatus PC-6, crashed in the afternoon near an airfield in the Lillo area of central Spain.

The daily ABC said the team, described as highly experienced, had been making an advertisement for Britain's Channel 4 television station on Thursday over Madrid.

Spanish media citing rescuers said the parachutists jumped free after the single-engined aircraft lost a wing and went into a spin, bursting into flames when it hit the ground.

The reports said the parachutist who died was a Brazilian, aged 36, and the 38-year-old pilot Spanish.

The other skydivers were of various nationalities.