A mother-of-four was among two skydivers who died following a “tragic accident” at an airfield in Devon.
Belinda Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene following Friday afternoon’s incident in the area of Dunkeswell Aerodrome near Honiton.
On Facebook, her partner Scott Armstrong wrote: “I miss you so much, you were my best friend.
“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, from making my children feel at home to putting up with my mess.
“… there’s just so much that I don’t have the words to express it.
“I feel so lost. I don’t know where home is without you.”
Dunkeswell Aerodrome near Honiton, Devon. Pic: Google Street View
Ms Taylor’s eldest son, Connor Bowles, paid tribute to a “selfless woman” who was also a grandmother to two young children.
Thanking investigators for their work so far, he told DevonLive: “She will be deeply missed and will leave an everlasting impression on all those she has met in life.”
The identity of the second skydiver who died is yet to be made public, but their family has been informed.
British Skydiving has confirmed it will be investigating the incident – with a report sent to the coroner, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police.
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In a statement, SkydiveBuzz, which operates at the airfield, said its “deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and everyone affected by this devastating event”.
A spokesperson added: “Safety is, and always has been, our top priority. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and continue to uphold the highest possible standards in everything we do.
“No further details will be provided at this time. We respectfully ask for privacy for all those affected, including our team, during this incredibly difficult time.”
Trails of Iranian ballistic missiles light up the night sky as seen from Gaza City during renewed missile strikes launched by Iran in retaliation against Israel on June 15, 2025.
Anadolu | Anadolu | Getty Images
Tehran will “pay the price” for its fresh missile onslaught against Israel, the Jewish state’s defense minister warned Monday, as markets braced for a fourth day of ramped-up conflict between the regional powers.
Fire exchanges have continued since Israel’s Friday attack against Iran, with Iranian media reporting Tehran’s latest strikes hit Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa, home to a major refinery. CNBC has reached out to operator Bazan for comment on the state of operations at the Haifa plant, amid reports of damage to Israel’s energy infrastructure.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said overnight it deployed “innovative methods” that “disrupted the enemy’s multi-layered defense systems, to the point that the Zionist air defense systems engaged in targeting each other,” according to a statement obtained by NBC News.
Israel has widely depended on its highly efficient Iron Dome missile defense system to fend off attacks throughout regional conflicts — but even it can be overwhelmed if a large number of projectiles are fired.
The fresh hostilities are front-of-mind for investors, who have been weighing the odds of further escalation in the conflict and spillover into the broader oil-rich Middle East, amid concerns over crude supplies and the key shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Oil prices retained the gains of recent days and at 09:19 a.m. London time, Ice Brent futures with August delivery were trading at $73.81 per barrel, down 0.57% from the previous trading session. The Nymex WTI contract with July expiry was at $72.7 per barrel, 0.38% lower.
Elsewhere, however, markets showed initial signs of shrugging off the latest hostilities early on Monday.
Spot prices for key safe-haven asset gold retreated early morning, down 0.42% to $3,417.83 per ounce after nearly notching a two-year-high earlier in the session, with U.S. gold futures also down 0.65% to $ 3,430.5
Tel Aviv share indices pointed higher, with the blue-chip TA-35 up 0.99% and the wider TA-125 up 1.33%.
European stock markets opened higher Monday, meanwhile, and U.S. stock futures were also in the green.
Luis Costa, global head of EM sovereign credit at Citigroup Global Markets, signaled the muted reaction could be, in part, attributed to hopes of a brisk resolution to the conflict.
“So markets are obviously, you know, bearing in mind all potential scenarios. There are obviously potentially very bad scenarios in this story,” he told CNBC’s “Europe Early Edition” on Monday. “But there is still a way out in terms of, you know, a faster resolution and bringing Iran to the table, or a short continuation here, of a very surgical and intense strike by the Israeli army.”
U.S. response in focus
As of Monday morning, Israel’s national emergency service Magen David Adom reported four dead and 87 injured following rocket strikes at four sites in “central Israel,” reporting collapsed buildings, fire and people trapped under debris.
Accusing Tehran of targeting civilians in Israel to prevent the Israel Defense Forces from “continuing the attack that is collapsing its capabilities,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, a close longtime ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said in a Google-translated social media update that “the residents of Tehran will pay the price, and soon.”
The IDF on Sunday said it had in turn “completed a wide-scale wave of strikes on numerous weapon production sites belonging to the Quds Force, the IRGC and the Iranian military, in Tehran.”
CNBC could not independently verify developments on the ground.
The U.S.’ response is now in focus, given its close support and arms provision to Israel, the unexpected cancellation of Washington’s latest nuclear deal talks with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s historically hard-hitting stance against Tehran during his first term.
Trump, who has been pushing Iran for a deal over its nuclear program, has weighed in on the conflict, opposing an Israeli proposal to kill Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to NBC News.
Discussions about the conflict are expected to take place during the ongoing meeting of the G7, encapsulating Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., along with the European Union.
— CNBC’s Katrina Bishop contributed to this report.
NASA, Axiom Space, and SpaceX are targeting no earlier than June 19 for the fourth private astronaut mission to the International Space Station. The Axiom Mission 4 launch was postponed from June 12 as the agency continued evaluating repairs made to a recent leak on the ISS. The small leaks, located in the Zvezda service module’s aft section, had been under observation for years. Now, following a recent repair, the pressure in the module’s transfer tunnel has remained stable, indicating either successful sealing of leaks or compensatory airflow from other station compartments.
NASA Targets June 19 for Axiom-4 Launch as ISS Pressure Holds and Falcon 9 Passes Final Tests
As per a NASA update, while the stable pressure offers promise, teams are still evaluating whether it reflects a successful seal or airflow leakage across the hatch from the main station. Monitoring pressure changes over time is expected to provide clearer insights. Adjustments in launch schedules are considered routine by NASA and its international partners, particularly when onboard station operations require urgent prioritisation.
Progress on the evaluation front has allowed the review of new launch windows. The earlier hold was further compounded by a liquid oxygen leak discovered during post-static fire inspections of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX successfully performed a wet dress rehearsal after repairs, validating that the rocket is good to go for launch from the Kennedy Space Centre‘s Launch Complex 39A.
The mission will be commanded by Peggy Whitson, an experienced NASA astronaut who is Axiom Space’s director of human spaceflight. India’s Shubhanshu Shukla of ISRO will pilot the mission. The mission specialists include Polish ESA astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski and Hungarian astronaut Tibor Kapu. The mission represents an extension of Axiom’s increasingly prominent position in commercial human spaceflight.
The new launch date for the Axiom-4 mission is currently targeted for June 19, 2025. SpaceX has verified that all of the technical issues that caused the first delay have been resolved. Further updates will be released as NASA and its partners finalise operational assessments, as shared by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh in an official statement.
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