British base jumper Jake Simkins dies in fall after hanging from cliff face for three hours as parachute snags

“He was telling her to be calm, not to worry, was even advising her to put on
sun tan oil and go do some sunbathing. Of course, he was writing all this
before the rock broke lose and he fell to his death”.

Corne van der Eerden, a Dutch tourist who witnessed the accident, told the
BBC: “We heard a flapping sound and saw what we thought was a guy
sky-diving or parachuting.

“He crashed into the wall – it looked to be about 60m high.

“I shouted out to him and he said he thought he had broken his leg. He
said he had his mobile phone on him and was going to call his wife.

“I told him to be careful but he said he was going to hang on tight. Our
boat arrived then, so my wife and I had to leave.”

The fire brigade, a navy patrol boat and other state and private rescuers
tried to get to Mr Simkins after the accident on Friday, but to no avail.

Mr Simkins was practising the sport of base jumping, in which parachutists
jump from cliffs, bridges or buildings.

Fatalities are common, but some sections of the local media suggested the
emergency services were partly to blame for his death, as they were poorly
equipped, with no ropes and no helicopter.

The Foreign Office confirmed Mr Simkins’ death and said it was assisting his
family.

At his mother Julia’s home in Hampstead, north London, a woman who identified
herself as his partner would only say: “I don’t want to talk now.”

On his Facebook page, Mr Simkins had referred to his trip to the island, also
known as Zakynthos, saying: “Can’t wait. June can’t come quick enough!”

Navagio beach, which is Greek for shipwreck, after the rusting hulk of a
merchant vessel which dominates the white sandy beach, is regarded as one of
the most spectacular base jumping locations in the world.

Dozens of thrill-seekers every summer jump from a 900ft high cliff, landing on
the beach in a cove which is accessible only from the sea.

Base jumping, an acronym for buildings, antennae, spans (bridges) and earth
(cliffs), the four types of fixed object from which participants parachute,
is one of the most dangerous sports in the world, claiming more than 170
lives in the past 30 years. According to one survey, one in every 20 base
jumpers dies practising the sport.

Last year Gary Harbird, from Honiton, Devon, died in the Swiss Alps when his
parachute opened too late and in 2008 Norwich-born Gus Brown died in a base
jump from a cliff in Switzerland a month after becoming one of the first
people to base jump from the 450ft Old Man of Hoy on the Orkneys.

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