An Italian man has been found dead on Mont Blanc in the French Alps after attempting a wingsuit jump, one of the most dangerous extreme sports, mountain rescue services said.



The 33-year-old was reported missing on Saturday and found at an altitude of 2,000 metres on Sunday after several hours of search efforts.

The victim, who was not identified, is believed to have jumped off at 3,800m from the Aiguille du Midi peak, part of the Mont Blanc massif, on Wednesday, a police spokesman in the nearby town of Chamonix told AFP.

Although he had told police about his planned jump, “no one was immediately concerned” about his whereabouts because he was jumping alone, police said.

Mountain rescue services were initially unable to find him Saturday evening after searching on foot and by helicopter.

But after speaking to his friends and obtaining more details on his jump, carried out in poor light and in fog, they were able to narrow their search.

The average wingsuit jump lasts barely a minute and within eight seconds, the jumper reaches speeds of 200 kilometres (120 miles) per hour.

American daredevil Johnny Strange died in the Swiss Alps in October while also attempting a jump in a wingsuit.