Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has died, aged 56, after a reported paragliding accident in Italy. Photo / Fabrice Coffrini, AFP
Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner has died, aged 56, after a reported paragliding accident in Italy. Photo / Fabrice Coffrini, AFP
Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil who famously jumped from the edge of the Earth’s atmosphere in a 2012 stunt, has died in Italy.
A senior official with the emergency services in the Marches region, northern Italy, confirmed his death to AFP. Police at Porto Sant’Elpidio, on Italy’s Adriatic coast, hadidentified Baumgartner, he said.
While he was not able to say what had been the cause of death, a report in the Il Corriere della Sera daily said that Baumgartner had lost control of his paraglider after suffering a malaise.
He landed in the swimming pool of a holiday residence at Porto Sant’Elpidio, slightly injuring a young woman.
The accident happened at around 4pm (Thursday, local time), the paper reported.
