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British BASE jumper dies in Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen area

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British BASE jumper dies in Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen area
Basejumping is popular in Lauterbrunnen because of its high cliffs. File photo: AFP

A British BASE jumper died on Sunday after he slammed into a cliff face during a jump near the village of Mürren in Switzerland's Bernese Oberland region.

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The 44-year-old, who was not named in a police statement about the accident, jumped from the Nose 3 take-off point shortly before 2.30pm on Sunday.

He then crashed into a cliff face and remained caught on a rock ledge. His injuries were fatal.

Rescue services recovered his body and Bern cantonal police are now investigating the accident.

The accident happened in an area which is very popular for BASE jumping, considered one of the most dangerous sports in the world.

BASE jumpers, who do not jump from planes but rather from locations including buildings and mountains, generally wear so-called wingsuits and can reach speeds off up to 200 kph before deploying their parachutes.

There have been a number of deaths in the Lauterbrunnen area but in 2016 local authorities ruled out a ban on the sport in the area saying there was no legal basis to do so and arguing people could decide what risks they wanted to undertake.

“We don't want to do it [ban the sport], or we'd also have to ban climbing and hiking,” said commune president Martin Stäger at the time.

Read also: American BASE jumper saved in amazing 13-hour rescue

 

 

 

 

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