Austrian extreme sports pioneer Felix Baumgartner, famed for a record-breaking 2012 skydive from the edge of space, died on Thursday (July 17) in a paragliding accident in central Italy, local police said.

Felix Baumgartner has died aged 56 in a paragliding accident in Italy. The Austrian skydiver and daredevil passed away after crashing into a hotel swimming pool on Thursday. Baumgartner had been

Felix Baumgartner is understood to have complained of feeling unwell while his paraglider was airborne shortly before losing control and crash-landing in a busy hotel swimming pool