A British BASE jumper fell 29 stories to his death in Thailand after his parachute failed to work properly, according to multiple reports.
Nathy Odinson, 33, was found dead near a condominium in the beach resort of Pattaya at around 7.30 p.m. local time on Saturday, according to Local News outlet,Khaosod,
One of Odinson’s friends, identified by khaosod as Mr Boy, told police he had earlier helped Odinson access the rooftop so that he could film a new jump for his social media channels.
Footage published by Mailonline shows Odinson checking his helmet camera, then counting “three, two, one, see ya,” just before he leaped from the building.
Boy told Khaosod that he spotted Odinson’s parachute string was snagged after he jumped.
Local eyewitnesses say they heard a sickening thud as Odinson hit a tree, and then the ground.
Police say they found Odinson with his parachute unopened next to his body, the BBC reported.
An employee of the condominium told Khaosod that Odinson had done the jump from the building “many times before,” seemingly in order to create video content.
A Facebook page identified by the outlet as belonging to Odinson features photos and videos from high above the clouds, and links to Thai Sky Adventures, a business advertising skydiving training and tandem jumps.
The page’s last post was just hours before Odinson’s jump. It is now inundated with condolence messages.
BASE Jumping is an extreme sport where participants leap from fixed points like cliffs or tall buildings.
It’s considered far more dangerous than parachuting from a plane with one 2007 study finding the risks of death were five to eight times higher than for for skydiving.
Unlike with the long drop from a plane, those taking part have just a few seconds to react in case something goes wrong. It also typically involves falling next to a structure such as a building, which the jumper could be blown into or hit on the way down. And jumpers typically rely on a single parachute, rather than having backup parachutes like those typically used in skydiving.
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