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| US daredevil Dean Potter dies during flying stunt | US daredevil Dean Potter dies during flying stunt |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Dean Potter - one of America's best known extreme athletes - has been killed during a stunt in California. | Dean Potter - one of America's best known extreme athletes - has been killed during a stunt in California. |
| The 43-year-old died while attempting a wingsuit flight from the 7,500 ft (2,286m) Taft Point promontory in Yosemite National Park, a park spokesman said. | The 43-year-old died while attempting a wingsuit flight from the 7,500 ft (2,286m) Taft Point promontory in Yosemite National Park, a park spokesman said. |
| Graham Hunt also died when their attempt to fly at high speed through a narrow gap in the skyline went wrong. | Graham Hunt also died when their attempt to fly at high speed through a narrow gap in the skyline went wrong. |
| Rescuers found the bodies soon after contact had been lost with the men. | Rescuers found the bodies soon after contact had been lost with the men. |
| No parachutes had been deployed, reports say. | No parachutes had been deployed, reports say. |
| Extreme sport pioneer | |
| The world of extreme sport has paid tribute to a climber that continuously pushed the limits of what was possible, sometimes controversially. | |
| He was the first to climb Yosemite's three most famous big walls in a single day. | He was the first to climb Yosemite's three most famous big walls in a single day. |
| He was also renowned for his high-line walks and high-risk parachute jumps, some of which he carried out with his dog, Whisper. | |
| Last year he released a 22-minute long film, "When Dogs Fly" that chronicled Whisper's skydiving adventures. Although it became a viral sensation, it also attracted criticism from animal rights activists. | |
| Climber Doug Robinson told the BBC that Potter had always sought to push the limits of what was possible in his sport. | |
| "We're very sad about Dean Potter's death, but not very surprised," he told BBC Newsday, "he was pushing the envelope all his life." | |
| Dean Potter: The sensation of high-line walking | |
| My vision turns black and white except for the searing red line. | |
| Sounds fade. I feel faint, face flushed with heat. | |
| My muscles tense, but I hold calmness in my centre and loosen my arms from the shoulders to my fingertips. | |
| The moment sickens me, and my mind tries to stop it, but I command myself to walk. |