Base jumper Carlos Suarez, 52, died after his parachute failed to open during a hot air balloon jump for a film he was taking part in near Toledo, south of Madrid, Spain
A base jumper has tragically died after his parachute failed to open as he parachuted out of a hot air balloon. Carlos Suarez, 52, died in the accident just after 9am this morning near the city of Toledo, south of Madrid.
He was one of five specialists who leapt into the air for a film shoot. The other four landed safely. Firefighters and police rushed to the scene near to an aerodrome in the town of Villa de Don Fadrique, but there was nothing they could do to save him. It emerged this afternoon that Mr Suarez was taking part in a film by award-winning director Salvador Calvo, called La Fiera.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard said: “A 52-year-old parachutist who performed a jump with four other people from a hot air balloon died this morning in a privately-organised event which was being filmed. This could be an accident caused by the fact the parachute didn’t open.”
Tributes have since poured in for Mr Suarez, who was a familiar name within the extreme sports community in Spain. Ultra-runner and ski mountaineer Kilian Jornet, who has won some of the world’s most prestigious ultramarathons and holds the fastest-known time speed record for the ascent and descent of several major mountains, wrote: “How sad is the loss of Carlos Suarez. In my memory are his achievements, solo climbs, amazing climbs, harvested from a very young age, but above all that motivation, that restless person with a unique talent for any alpine activity who never stopped learning.”
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