Lisbon (AFP) – A German BASE jumper died Monday when his parachute failed to open in time after jumping off a cliff in Nazare, central Portugal, maritime authorities said.
The unidentified 50-year-old man and a friend had leapt off a cliff about 100 metres (328 feet) high at a site known among surfers for its large waves.
The jumper hit another rocky outcrop, about 20 metres high, “and attempts to resuscitate him failed,” Nazare port captain Paulo Agostinho said.
BASE jumping is a particularly dangerous sport because enthusiasts have little time to open their parachutes after leaping from either a building, antenna, bridge, or cliff.