A wingsuit BASE jumper died in Switzerland on Friday morning while live streaming his flight on Facebook.
The 28-year-old Italian had jumped Friday 26th August 2016 from the Alpschelehubel mountain in Kandersteg while wearing a wingsuit.
"Shortly after take-off he got into trouble, for as-yet unknown reasons, and crashed to the ground," police said in a statement.
File photo: Philippe Desmazes/AFP
Police did not confirm his identity, but Swiss newspaper Blick named him as Armin S., who lived in Freiburg in south-west Germany.
"Today you fly with me"
"Today you fly with me," he says in the video. Armin then pockets the camera and jumps, with his viewers able to hear - but not see - as he flies through the air.
A scream is heard about 27 seconds after jumping, followed by tumbling, then a few seconds of agonal breathing, followed by silence and the distant sound cow bells.
At first friends and family who were viewing live on Facebook did not realise the gravity of the situation, even making jokes about an uncomfortable landing. Only after a few minutes without video movement did viewers begin to get alarmed. Emergency services were then called, but nothing could be done to save the victim.
The video
Armin's Facebook profile is at: https://www.facebook.com/mc.dexter.9
The crash video has since been removed from Facebook, but a copy is saved online at LiveLeak.
Watch it here: http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=815_1472326174
A still from the video, Armin smiling while zipping up his wingsuit a few minutes before take-off
Another still from during the flight. All that can be seen is the inside of his pocket, but it is clear from the audio what happened.
15 BASE fatalities in August 2016
Wingsuit BASE jumping is widely considered the most dangerous sport in the world. Particularly the sub-discipline known as "proximity terrain flying" where pilots aim to fly as close to the mountainside as possible.
There have been 15 fatal accidents from BASE jumping in August 2016 alone, and a total of 31 so far this year. Each year the number increases as more and more people seek out the thrill of the sport.
Details statistics are available here: BASE fatalities per year. Meanwhile the Base Fatality List lists all victims since the sport started in 1981. So far there have been a grand total of 306 deaths.
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What would happen if a wingsuit jumper hit a large bird at high speed during their fall? They're going fast enough that I think it would be very serious.
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I think bird strikes are very rare, but there is a report of one here. Apparently the wingsuiter only suffered facial lacerations and abrasions. For the bird, an eagle, it was assumed to be fatal.
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