A British base jumper has died after plunging 400 metres from a mountaintop in Italy.
Mark Andrews, 65, originally of Redruth, Cornwall, was killed instantly after falling down the rock face in Trentino, while wearing a wing suit.
He is thought to have been wearing a parachute, however it remains unclear if he was unable to deploy it, while police said the exact circumstances were under investigation.
The tragic accident occurred on Saturday morning at a popular base jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites at Paganella, near the city of Trento.
Mr Andrews had reportedly gone to the site on his own, before a fellow base jumper called the emergency services after they watched the horrific incident unfold.
It is understood that Mr Andrews died close to the spot where another British skydiver perished exactly a year before.
Although he was a latecomer to the sport, Mr Andrews had completed over 600 jumps (Credit: learntobasejump Instagram)
Mark Andrews (pictured middle) with members of base jumping group, Learn To Base Jump
The tragic accident occurred on Saturday morning at a popular base jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites at Paganella, near the city of Trento
Mr Andrews, who had been living in Bucharest, Romania, with his wife, was a keen lover of base jumping and posted clips often of his escapades.
He had also lived in Russia.
The 65-year-old retired engineer is said to had been a relative latecomer to base jumping as a sport, however had completed nearly 600 jumps before his death.
A mountain rescue helicopter was brought in to recover his body and he was later flown to a nearby hospital to await repatriation.
A base jumper who knew Mark said: ‘He came to base jumping quite late. He’s only been doing it since 2014 but he packed a lot into those nine years.
‘He was fearless and will be missed. He was a regular in Italy at various base-jumping events, but had also base jumped all over the world off bridges and skyscrapers.
‘He lived in Moscow for and was a drilling engineer but then he moved to Bucharest where his wife is from.’
Mr Andrews, who was from Redruth in Cornwall, most recently resided in Moscow, according to his Facebook profile
According to police, Mr Andrews had been living in the Romanian capital of Bucharest with his wife
Mr Andrews, who had been living in Bucharest, Romania , with his wife, was a keen lover of base jumping and posted clips often of his escapades. He is pictured during a previous jump
Another base jumper said: ‘The area where the accident happened is one of the most dangerous and it’s considered only for experts as it’s quite tricky.
‘It’s not a straight forward descent, there are rock and tree ledges for the first 400 metres before it then hits a straight 1500 metres straight down.
‘You have to be careful with the wind as well and that’s why only experienced professionals jump from that point with others heading to another location about 30km away at Mt Brenta.’
Clips on his Instagram show the daredevil leaping off impressive mountain tops in countries across Europe; including Norway, Italy and Russia.
He was affiliated with base jumping group, Lean To Base Jump.
A person who answered the phone at their Swiss HQ confirmed they knew Mark but would not discuss the accident.
The foreign office told MailOnline: ‘We are in contact with local police following the death of a British man in Italy and are supporting his family’.
Dylan Morris Roberts , 33, (pictured) died instantly after hitting a gully off Mount Cimone on June 2, 2022
BASE jumping involves leaping from fixed objects and using a parachute to descend to the ground and its stands for buildings, antenna, spans (bridges) and earth (cliffs).
The extreme sport has killed more than 400 people in the last twenty years.
According to Italian media reports, another British base jumper perished near the spot where Mr Andrews’ died on the same day last year.
Dylan Morris Roberts, 33, died instantly after hitting a gully off Mount Cimone on June 2, 2022. He was killed after leaping from an 800m ledge known as ‘Happy Birthday’ on the 1500m Monte Brento in the Trentino region of northern Italy.
It is understood that the professional base jumper’s parachute failed to open and his friends believed he may have miscalculated his trajectory.
Onlookers said he fell 200m and the appeared to hit the side of the mountain after take off and his body was recovered by mountain rescue teams.
The 33-year-old was an expert sky diver who had carried out dozens of jumps and was also a former instructor with British Parachute schools.
He had combined his love for parachuting with the extreme sport of base jumping.
