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Police: Man dies trying to parachute from Florida hotel balcony

He was said to have been attempting to BASE jump at the time.
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — Authorities say a man died when his parachute didn’t open after he jumped from a hotel balcony in Florida’s Panhandle. 

Panama City Beach police say the man was attempting to BASE jump off the Sunrise Beach Resort on Sunday night.

WECP reports Timothy Ackerman, 31, was attempting to jump from the resort's 23rd floor at the time of his death.

The investigation is still open and ongoing, but authorities say they want to remind the public that it is illegal to trespass and that there is no place in Florida that allows BASE jumping.

BASE jumping stands for jumping not from planes, but from fixed locations including buildings, antenna, or spans. 

It has produced a mass of online videos showing people parachuting from buildings and wingsuit fliers zooming shockingly close to the treetops — mostly recorded outside the United States. 

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