Felix Baumgartner dies in paragliding crash - felt unwell before flight; Italy mourns
Austrian sportsman Felix Baumgartner, 56, also known as 'fearless Felix' has lost his life in a paragliding accident in Italy, as per local media.
Baumgartner reportedly was feeling unwell before takeoff and lost control of his aircraft on Thursday around 4.00 pm (local time) in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Marche.
He reportedly crashed the craft into a hotel swimming pool, reports the New York Post.
A woman was also injured in the incident after being hit by Baumgartner as he fell to the ground. She was transported to Murri Hospital, though initial reports indicate her injuries are not serious.
Baumgartner departed from Fermo, but while flying along the coast, he lost control of the powered hang glider for reasons still under investigation.
Following the crash, he lost consciousness and went into cardiac arrest, reports the Daily Mail.
Emergency responders called for an air ambulance to transport him to the Torrette Hospital, in Ancona but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Around two hours before the deadly crash he posted a story on his Instagram that read 'too much wind.'
'Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight," said the city's mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella, through a social media post.
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Baumgartner's daring jump in 2012 from a capsule over 39 kilometres (24 miles) above Earth cemented his place in the record books as an extreme adventurer. Baumgartner achieved the fastest freefall on record, reaching a top speed of 1,357.6 kilometers (843.6 miles) per hour after jumping from the capsule, reports AFP.
He set a world record in 1999 for the highest parachute jump from a building by leaping off the 1,483-foot-tall Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
He also became the first person to skydive across the English Channel in 2003.
"I always had the desire to be in the air," Austrian media quoted him saying. "I climbed trees, I wanted to see the world from above."
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