04 June 2023 , 18:31
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A British base jumper has fallen to his death from an Italian mountain top.
Mark Andrews lost his left after plunging more than 400 metres down a rock face in Trentino, Italy, on Saturday.
The 65-year-old was originally from Redruth in Cornwall but had been living in Bucharest, Romania, with his wife, the MailOnline reports.
He was a thrill-seeker and keen base jumper, but was killed instantly while at the popular jumping spot in the Italian Dolomites.
Mr Andrews was wearing his wing suit at the time, and it's thought he was wearing a parachute, but it remains unclear if he was able to deploy it.
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Police are still investigating the circumstances around the tragic fall.
The 65-year-old was killed instantly after plunging more than 400 metres (Instagram/MarkAndrews)The English-born man had ventured to the site on his own, but it was another base jumper who rang the emergency services after witnessing the incident.
According to Italian media reports, another British base jumper died at the exact same spot the same day last year.
Mr Andrews was a retired engineer and thought to have been a latecomer to the sport, but completed nearly 600 jumps before his death.
A mountain rescue helicopter was brought in to recover his body and he was later flown to a nearby hospital to await repatriation.
Mr Andrews, a software engineer, was originally from Cornwall (Instagram/MarkAndrews)A base jumper who knew Mark said: "He came to base jumping quite late. He's only been doing it since 2014 but he packed a lot into those nine years.
"He was fearless and will be missed. He was a regular in Italy at various base-jumping events, but had also base jumped all over the world off bridges and skyscrapers.
"He lived in Moscow for and was a drilling engineer but then he moved to Bucharest where his wife is from."
The thrill-seeker had ventured to the mountain top on his own before falling to his death (Instagram/MarkAndrews)Another added: "The area where the accident happened is one of the most dangerous and it's considered only for experts as it's quite tricky.
"It's not a straight forward descent, there are rock and tree ledges for the first 400 metres before it then hits a straight 1500 metres straight down.
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"You have to be careful with the wind as well and that's why only experienced professionals jump from that point with others heading to another location about 30km away at Mt Brenta."
The foreign office explained: "We are in contact with local police following the death of a British man in Italy and are supporting his family."