Another base jumper dies – body recovered as snow melts

A Styrian extreme sportsman, who has been missing in Switzerland since the beginning of March, was found dead. The 29-year-old man from Graz fell in an attempt to fly through a canyon near Walenstadt in a wing suit.

A jump in the Schattenbach canyon in the Swiss canton St Gallen on 3 March 2013 proved to be fatal for the base jumper.

Together with a 25-year-old colleague, the man jumped from the jump point “Sputnik” of Hinterruggs. They planned to fly through Schattenbach canyon and to land in Walenstadt.

However, the younger base jumper could neither find his friend in the air nor on the ground. He called the ambulance immediately. The Swiss air rescue service and the alpine rescue started searching for the man but were not able to locate him.

In view of the avalanche and rock fall risk, the search had to be terminated soon. Only the thaw period of the last few weeks revealed the corpse of the man. It was discovered at the foot of a rock face.