Skydiver Felix Baumgartner (56) famed for space jump killed in paraglide fall
Mr Baumgartner lost control of his motorised paraglider while flying over Porto Sant'Elpidio in Italy's central Marche region, and fell to the ground near the swimming pool of a hotel.
The reasons for the accident were unclear.
Mr Baumgartner made headlines around the world in October 2012
Porto Sant'Elpidio's mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, said reports suggested he may have suffered a sudden medical issue mid-air, and offered the town's condolences for the death of 'a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flights'.
Mr Baumgartner made headlines around the world in October 2012 when, wearing a specially made suit, he jumped from a balloon 38km above Earth, becoming the first skydiver to break the sound barrier, typically measured at more than 1,110kmh.
He made the historic jump over Roswell, New Mexico, reaching a peak speed of over 1,343kmh, on the 65th anniversary of legendary American pilot Chuck Yeager's flight shattering the sound barrier on October 14, 1947.
The self-styled 'God of the Skies' started parachuting as a teenager before taking up the extreme sport of base jumping.
Mr Baumgartner's long career of daredevil jumps included skydiving across the English Channel and parachuting off the Petronas Towers in Malaysia.
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