2 killed In Utah BASE jump, including pro trickliner Andy Lewis
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TMX
MOAB — Two people died from their injuries after BASE jumping in a remote area of Utah on Sunday, including a pro slackliner who once performed with Madonna, officials said.
The Grand County Sheriff’s Office said deputies, search and rescue personnel, Grand County EMS and two Intermountain helicopters responded to a report of a BASE jumping incident in the remote area of Mineral Bottom.
BASE jumping is an extreme sport that involves leaping from fixed objects: Buildings, Antennas, Spans (bridges or arches), and Earth (cliffs).
Rescuers arrived to find two BASE jumpers who succumbed to their injuries at the scene. One victim was described only as a 50-year-old man. The second victim was identified as Andrew “Andy” Lewis of Moab.
Lewis, 39, was a well-known professional slackliner known for popularizing competitive tricklining, which he famously performed during Madonna’s Super Bowl XLVI halftime show. He was also a professional BASE jumping guide.
Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins told the Moab Sun News that the pair were conducting a tandem BASE jump, in which one person is harnessed to the experienced jumper with a single parachute between them.
“The Grand County Sheriff’s Office extends its deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and all those affected by this tragic incident,” the sheriff’s office said.