Felix Baumgartner - a daredevil known as 'the man who fell from space' - shared a tragic final social media post just hours before he died in a paragliding accident in Italy.
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The 56-year-old Austrian skydiver, pilot, extreme sports athlete, and BASE jumping pioneer, whose 24-mile plunge from the stratosphere captured the world’s attention in 2012 - was flying a motored paraglider in Porto Sant’Elpidio when he reportedly suffered a sudden onset of illness mid-flight, causing him to lose control of the craft, The Sun reports.
Baumgartner’s paraglider crashed into a swimming pool at a holiday resort, where he was killed instantly.
A hotel employee on the ground was also injured in the accident, suffering neck injuries after being struck by the paraglider, and was rushed to hospital and is not believed to be in serious condition.
The Mirror is reporting that Baumgartner "had complained of feeling unwell while the paraglider was airborne, and lost control of the craft shortly after".
Just hours before the tragic accident, Baumgartner had shared a final post on his Instagram account, which showed him working on his paramotor, which he captioned: "Man At Work #paramotor".
The video showed him using tools to make adjustments to the paramotor before his final flight.
The final Instagram stories he posted showed him watching a young female fan putting on a motorcycle display for him, before showing a Red Bull branded wind sock and declaring there was "too much wind".
His death comes 13 years after he ascended 24 miles into the air using a helium balloon before he hurtled back to Earth at record-breaking speed, which was live-streamed by Red Bull.
Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier outside of a vehicle, reaching a top speed of Mach 1.25, or 843mph.
Reflecting on the feat years later, Baumgartner revealed: "I wanted to be the first human outside of an aircraft breaking the sound barrier.
"It’s very difficult to do a perfect exit, do not over-rotate, there’s no air to use to slow down.
"First 25 seconds it looked like everything’s under control. Then after 34 seconds I hit Mach 1 and broke the speed of sound. That was our goal.
"I was mentally prepared to spin. I started, it got faster. There was no protocol. Then it really ramped up. It wasn’t about breaking records any more, it was about survival.
"(In the end) I was happy. Even the landing was perfect."
News of Baumgartner’s death sent shockwaves through the extreme sports community and beyond.
Friends and fans flooded his comments section with tributes, writing: "You are an inspiration. Rest in peace," and: "Today is a sad day. Rest in peace Legend."
Others added: "Rest in peace, brother. Fly free," and: "Fly high you incredible aviation legend. You have been an inspiration to us all, defying everything that people thought was possible. Fly high."
Our thoughts remain with Baumgartner's family, friends, and fans at this devastating time.