The incident, which triggered a multi-agency search and rescue response, added to a string of recent aerial sports accidents within the Table Mountain National Park.<\/p>\n
Wilderness Search and Rescue (WSAR) said teams were dispatched on Monday following reports of a wingsuit base jumping incident<\/a> in Platteklip Gorge on Table Mountain.<\/p>\n After a coordinated search involving several emergency services, the individual was located but was declared dead at the scene.<\/p>\n The base jumper\u2019s body was later airlifted from the mountain by helicopter and handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS).<\/p>\n He has since been identified as American Brendan Weinstein<\/a> \u2013 an experienced base jumper with a large following in the US. <\/p>\n In an interview with CapeTalk on Wednesday, former skydiver Jeff Ayliffe said that Weinstein had flown directly from the US to attempt the jump, but had not consulted local base jumpers.<\/p>\n \u201c[Weinstein] hadn\u2019t contacted any of the local base jumping fraternity to speak to them about this exit point, and this exit point has been jumped many times successfully,\u201d Ayliffe said<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a very technical jump, however, and it had very sad consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n Base jumping is in fact prohibited in the Table Mountain National Park, and authorities have warned these stunts put both base jumpers and tourists at risk. <\/p>\n On Monday WSAR spokesperson David Nel extended condolences to the deceased\u2019s family and friends and thanked the rescue teams and volunteers involved in the recovery operation, which he described as challenging.<\/p>\n Base jumper the second fatality in two months<\/p>\n Monday\u2019s incident is the latest in a series of recent aerial sports accidents within the Table Mountain National Park.<\/p>\n Last Friday, WSAR teams responded to the Kloof Nek landing zone after a 57-year-old paraglider crashed on the slopes below the Lion\u2019s Head parking area.<\/p>\n This marks the third paragliding incident on Lion\u2019s Head since 25 November, when world-renowned South African extreme sports athlete and aviator Jean-Jacques \u201cJJ\u201d Wallis suffered a fatal crash on the mountain.<\/p>\n Following this tragedy, a foreign paraglider survived a crash on 8 December.<\/p>\n