The 28-year-old, named locally as Armin Schmieder, told his fans ‘today you fly with me’ before his leap, from a mountain top near Kandersteg in Switzerland, ended in tragedy. Images from a video posted online show the pilot readying his wing suit before pocketing his phone and taking off. Some sent messages asking that he ‘write or say something.’
But all that could be heard on the video was the sound of cow bells, the newspaper reports. The video couldn’t immediately be verified. Bern cantonal police said the body of a 28-year-old Italian citizen was recovered near Kandersteg, a popular BASE jumping location.
Police spokeswoman Jolanda Egger declined Saturday to confirm the man’s identity.
She said the cause of the accident was still being investigated.
Blick reports that according to a a friend, Schmieder lived in Freiburg and had a young child.
The friend said: ‘He was an experienced skydiver, but flew only a year with the wing suit.’
It is the latest tragedy to hit the sport and comes just days after Alexander Polli, one of the world’s most celebrated and daring wing suit pilots, died after crashing into a tree during a flight.
The accident happened in the Couloir de l’Ensa mountainous area in Chamonix in the French Alps.
Mr Polli, 31, reached international fame after posting a video of himself flying through a small hole in a huge rock called the ‘Roca Forada’ in Montserrat, Spain.
The video, seen more than 13 million times, shows the skilled pilot in his wingsuit flying through the hole at 155 mph (250 kph).
His most recent flight ended tragically, however, as the daring jumper leapt from a height of 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) and smashed into a tree.
His friends quickly called the police who sent out a rescue team to save him.
Mr Polli was conscious when they arrived, but the gravity of his injuries meant the team was unable to keep him alive long enough to transport him to hospital.
Earlier this month, a British BASE jumper plunged to his death in central Switzerland this week.
The 49-year-old man was jumping from the ‘High Ultimate’ peak near the Alpine village of Murren when he crashed into a cliff.
A week earlier, a British skydiver died after his parachute failed to open on a jump in the French Alps.
David Reader, 25, was taking part in a base jump near Sallanches, close to Mont Blanc, on August 7.
His parachute failed to open and he hit the ground, suffering a severe head injury and several injuries to his body.
Mr Reader, from Newnham in Gloucestershire, was taken to hospital in Annecy but died the following day.