Dad killed in freak accident during base jumping competition as parachute fails to open

A dad tragically died in a "freak" accident during a base jumping competition after a suspected parachute failure.

James Lee Nowland, 42, died after plunging from the summit of a plateau in the Dolomites mountain range in northern Italy, called Sass Pordoi. The dad, from Perth, Australia, died on Wednesday afternoon when he crashed onto a road around 400 metres away from the base jumping course, according to Italian alpine rescue crews. A group of Australians, who had known James, alerted emergency services to the tragic accident, but rescue crews were unable to revive the daredevil dad.

Investigators looking into the sad case suspect his parachute might have been unable to open due to a technical failure, according to Italian news agency ANSA.

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Rescuer Andrea Dorigatti, speaking to Seven News, said: "We tried to do our best to save (him)... there was nothing to do for him. I asked the friends and they told me that the problem was with the parachute that didn't get open."

James was an experienced base jumper and he had travelled thousands of miles to Italy for an international competition in the daredevil sport. The dad's friends reportedly said he died after a "freak" accident.

The victim's heartbroken brother paid tribute in a touching social media post, alongside a picture of the pair in the snow on a trip to Canada. He said: "Rest in peace brother! Wish we had more times like this together. Hope you’re soaring through the clouds doing what you love forever."

James' social media accounts have documented his travels across the globe, including snaps of his base jumping in areas like New Zealand, Switzerland and China. Aside from his adrenaline-fuelling hobby, James' day job was in construction project management.

Before the father's sad death, he has shared content of himself preparing for the Pordoi BASE Race competition, which is due to run from July 16 to 18. This extreme competition involves jumpers using a wingsuit to fly down from a rocky summit at fast speeds.

Base jumping is a notoriously dangerous extreme sport that has claimed the lives of many daredevils. A Spanish TV presenter, dubbed "Adrenaline Woman", tragically also died recently after a horror base jumping incident. Spanish presenter Marta Jiménez, 34, died while base jumping in the Pyrenees mountains, near the northeastern city of Huesca, on Sunday at around 10.30am.

She gained her nickname for her daring and high-octane stunts, which she performed on TV. Her colleagues on the Spanish chat show "El Hormiguero" (The Anthill) confirmed Marta's tragic death and insisted that she would not be forgotten.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene but they were unable to save Marta, her TV show said in a statement. Rescue teams even brought a helicopter to the site but they found the woman's lifeless body at the location.