Base jumper dies after parachute fails during leap off Florida building

A man attempting to base jump off the 23rd floor balcony of a beach resort has been killed after his parachute failed to open.

A man plunged to his death in Florida after his parachute failed to open when he jumped from a hotel balcony, authorities said.

The 31-year-old man leapt from the 23rd floor balcony of the Sunrise Beach Resort in Panama City Beach on Sunday night, local time, news station WMBB reported.

He had been attempting to base jump – an activity in which people leap from a building or antenna, among other fixed objects – but his parachute didn’t open in time.

The man plunged from the 23rd floor of the building, police said. Picture: News13

A press release from the Panama City Beach Police Department identified the man as local resident Timothy Dale Ackerman.

“The Panama City Beach Police Department would like to remind everyone it is against the law to trespass and there is no legal place in Florida that allows base jumping,” the release said.

Panama City Beach is a popular spring break destination located on the Gulf of Mexico, more than 160km southwest of the Florida capital, Tallahassee.

Police at the scene of the man’s death. Picture: News13

The man’s death comes as spring break celebrations turn wild in Florida, with a state of emergency being declared in Miami Beach and SWAT teams forced to fire warning shots.

Videos on social media and local media showed thousands of revellers defying both the COVID-19 pandemic and Miami Beach’s curfew after it started at 8pm on Saturday.

Special weapons and tactics teams rolled in to block the streets and used piercing sound cannons to try to clear the completely packed streets while the parties continue to rage for hours, according to videos filmed at the scene.

A version of this article originally appeared on the New York Post and was reproduced with permission