Extreme sport deaths are rising. Why?

The number of people dying while taking part in the extreme sport of Base jumping is rising.

Twenty eight people died while Base jumping in 2023, the most since 2018 – making it the third deadliest year since records began in 1981.

Base jumping, in which participants leap from fixed objects such as cliffs before pulling a parachute, is often referred to as the most extreme of all the extreme sports.

After a number of high-profile deaths in the mid-2010s, sponsors such as the Clif Bar snack brand dropped the sport and the number of fatalities gradually fell.

But since the pandemic incidents have started creeping back up.

Analysis of available data published in a new Tortoise podcast about extreme sports sponsorship, Red Bull’s Killer PR, shows this isn’t just the result of more people participating.

In Switzerland, a favourite location for Base jumpers, the death rate is also increasing.