Base jumper falls to his death in canton of Bern - World Radio Switzerland

[blinc]

WRS | Base jumper falls to his death in canton of Bern

Tuesday, 8 September, 2009, 08:51
Base jumper falls to his death in canton of Bern

An extreme sports enthusiast has fallen to his death while base jumping in the canton of Bern.

The man had jumped off a cliff with a parachute, at Lauterbrunnen yesterday when the accident happened.

Police say that he struck the side of the cliff several times before coming to rest on a rock. He died in hospital.

An investigation is underway into what caused the accident.

[mknutson]

Does anyone have any details as to whom this was?

[saphyre]

Hello, this happened to Stephan Drenchev, from Bulgaria. He worked as a packer in a dropzone near Madrid (Ocaña). He had around 55 base jumps. Yesterday, 7 of us went to jump from the High Nose. Stephan was the 5th to jump, I was to jump right after him. His exit was perfect, but the track he performed did not separate him much from the wall. He pulled very stable but rather low and had a 180 turn on opening. He eventually cleared the turn but was too low and impacted on the talus. He then kept on falling and impacting, but nobody could see it clearly because he disappeared behind the trees. The canopy was fully inflated when he first impacted and the strike did not seem so hard because he was already very close to the talus, so no one thought that he would die because of the injuries. We called Air Glaciers and the helicopter arrived really fast. They airlifted him to Bern.

Stephan was an exceptional person and he will be missed by many people. He was the kind of person that is nice at heart, ALWAYS kind and ready to help....always giving, always smiling and cheering. He told me once that his mission in life was to live it to the fullest, enjoying each and everyday

Rest in peace Stephan


Rest in peace, Stephan. [/COLOR]

[Padski]

In memory of Stefan Drenchev