A British man has died in Italy after his 9,842ft base jump from a mountain range went wrong, Sky News reports. 32-year-old Jean Andre Quemener, from Jersey, was killed after reportedly losing control of his wingsuit during high winds in the Italian Dolomites at Canazei, north of Venice.
It is claimed he hit the rock face before falling more than 656ft to his death. The accident happened at Sass Pordoi at Canazei, a mountain popular with base jumpers at around midday on Saturday.
A spokesman from the Foreign Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in Canazei, Italy, and are in contact with the local authorities.”
Base jumpers are able to fly at speeds of up to 120mph before opening a parachute and gliding to the ground. The rates of fatalities and injuries are about 50 times higher than skydiving, and almost 200 base jumpers died between 1981 and 2012.
