Tom Powell
SPANISH celebrity chef Dario Barrio has died in a tragic skydiving accident.
In shocking video footage, a passerby captured the famous TV chef’s final moments before he crashed into a cliff face in Jaen’s Sierra Segura mountain range.
Paramedics were called to the scene, but were unable to revive him.
The experienced skydiver, 42, was taking part in the Andalucian International Air Festival, when his parachute malfunctioned and failed to open.
Organisers have suspended all remaining events in the festival, and say they ‘deeply regret’ the accident.
The celebrity chef, who began cooking when he was just 14, became famous after appearing on the television programme ‘Todos contra el chef’ – or Everyone against the chef.
Friends and colleagues took to Twitter to express their sorrow.
Celebrated US chef Jose Andres said that ‘the sky will eat much better’, while comedian Goyo Jimenez added that he was ‘in shock’.
Barrio has won numerous awards, and was well-known as a promoter of a healthy lifestyle.
Nice to see the US media is not alone in jumping to conclusions and reporting speculation as fact. There is no indication that the “parachute malfunctioned and failed to open.” Video of the incident indicates he did not try to deploy the parachute, but intended to glide over the cliff. Sad as it is, what malfunctioned was the skydiver, not a parachute.