🪂 Legendary extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, best known for his record-breaking 2012 space jump, has died in a paragliding accident in Italy. He was 56.

Baumgartner lost control of his paraglider and crashed near a hotel pool in Porto Sant’Elpidio, along the Adriatic coast, on Thursday. Reports say he hit a wooden structure next to the pool at Le Mimose Family Camping Village.

A female hotel employee was also injured by debris and hospitalized with neck injuries.

Authorities believe Baumgartner may have lost consciousness mid-air, leading to the fatal crash. Just two hours before the accident, he had posted an ominous message on Instagram:
“Too much wind.”

Local mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella confirmed the tragic news, calling Baumgartner “a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight.”

🌌 From Stratosphere to Sky Legend

Born in Salzburg, Austria, Baumgartner completed his first parachute jump at just 16 and served in the Austrian military as a parachutist.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, he made headlines for daring BASE jumps, including:

• Petronas Towers (1999) – Set a world record for highest jump from a building.
• Christ the Redeemer statue (1999) – BASE-jumped from Brazil’s iconic landmark.
• English Channel (2003) – Became the first person to cross it in free fall using carbon-fiber wings.

🚀 The Space Jump That Made History

Baumgartner achieved global fame in 2012 with the Red Bull Stratos project, jumping from a balloon nearly 39 kilometers (24 miles) above Earth over New Mexico, USA.

He became:

• The first human to break the sound barrier in free fall
• Holder of three world records:
  • Fastest freefall speed: 1,357.6 km/h (Mach 1.25)
  • Highest manned balloon flight: 38,969 meters
  • Longest distance freefall: 36,402 meters

🕊️ A Legacy of Fearless Flight

Red Bull, his longtime sponsor, confirmed Baumgartner’s death Thursday evening. Tributes are pouring in from fans and athletes around the world who admired his fearless spirit and trailblazing achievements in extreme sports.

Felix Baumgartner’s life was a flight of daring dreams and now, he soars beyond.