Felix Baumgartner, known for a record-breaking skydive from edge of space, dies at 56

By AFP July 18, 2025 | 12:07 am PT

Felix Baumgartner, the Austrian daredevil who famously jumped from the edge of the Earth's atmosphere in a 2012 stunt, died on Thursday in Italy, the emergency services there announced.

Felix Baumgartner after successfully parachuting from a helium balloon-lifted spacecraft in Roswell, New Mexico, in October 2012. Photo by AP

A senior official with the emergency services in the Marches region, northern Italy, confirmed his death to AFP. Police at Porto Sant'Elpidio, on Italy's Adriatic coast, had identified Baumgartner, he said.

While he was not able to say what had been the cause of death, a report in the Il Corriere della Sera daily said that Baumgartner had lost control of his paraglider after suffering a malaise.

He landed in the swimming pool of a holiday residence at Porto Sant'Elpidio, slightly injuring a young woman.

The accident happened at around 4 p.m., the paper reported.

Baumgartner's dramatic 2012 jump from a capsule more than 39 kilometers (24 miles) above the Earth was the most spectacular of a string of record-breaking stunts.