Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner’s tragic final posts before death during stunt aged 56

Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner took to Instagram to share a series of posts just hours before he died at the age of 56.

Baumgartner defied the limits of possibility with his daredevil stunts, and accumulated a massive fan base doing so.

The Austrian became the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile leap through the stratosphere for Red Bull in 2012, which became one of his most well-known stunts.

The athlete was flying over the Italian village of Porto Saint’Elpido on Thursday (July 17) when Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said reports suggested he may have suffered a sudden medical issue.

The man, also known as ‘Fearless Felix’, then fell to the ground near a hotel swimming pool.

Felix Baumgartner has died aged 56 (John Moore/Getty Images)

Ciarpella said in a social media post: “Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight.”

A final social media post by Baumgartner suggested there were potential issues before the athlete died.

Just hours before the fatal accident, the athlete shared a picture of a filled Red Bull windsock in what appears to be an airfield to his Instagram Stories.

“Too much wind,” the daredevil said while he added the song ‘Sit and Wait’.

While that was posted on Instagram Stories, Baumgartner shared a video of him getting the motor of his paraglider ready on his main feed.