Daredevil Felix Baumgartner ‘died in mid air’ before crashing into hotel worker in front of horrified witnesses
Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner, who once broke the world record for the highest skydive by jumping from the edge of space, is thought to have died after suffering a "sudden medical issue mid-air" while paragliding in Italy.
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The extreme athlete, 56, who earned the nickname 'Fearless Felix' for his pioneering stunts is believed to have died at around 4pm on Thursday, with local reports saying his craft plummeted into a swimming pool at a resort in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Fermo.
A woman was also left injured in the incident after being struck by Baumgartner during his descent. Reports suggest her condition is not serious.
The pool was said to have been crowded and bustling with children when the crash happened, according to Italian newspaper la Repubblica.
Porto Sant’Elpidio’s mayor, Massimiliano Ciarpella, said reports suggest Baumgartner 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".
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Baumgartner is thought to have complained of feeling unwell while his paraglider was airborne before he lost control of the craft shortly after, with preliminary information indicating he was already dead when the collision occurred.
He made headlines in 2012 when he broke the world record - and the sound barrier - for the highest-ever skydive, jumping from a balloon more than 39km (128,000 ft) up in the stratosphere.
He made the historic jump over Roswell, New Mexico, reaching a peak speed of more than 1,343km/h, during a nine-minute descent on the 65th anniversary of American pilot Chuck Yeager’s flight shattering the sound barrier on October 14 1947.
Speaking at a media conference at the time about the jump, he said "when I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble", adding: "You don't think about breaking records anymore, you don't think about gaining scientific data - the only thing that you want is to come back alive."
His ability to stun with his pursuits began earlier than his space stunt, as he set one of his earliest records in 1999 for the world's lowest base jump, from the 30m (98ft) high hand of Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue.
In the same year, he set the world record for the highest parachute jump, hurling himself from the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
In 2003, he completed a flight across the English Channel with a specially-made jumpsuit with carbon-fibre wings.
Shortly before his death, the sporting sensation posted a video to social media showing himself paragliding in circles over a field.