A New Zealander who was killed while base jumping in northern Italy has been described by his friends and family as a free spirit who loved adventure.
Media are reporting that the young Kiwi who died after jumping off a peak in the region of Trentino Alto Adige on Monday was George Allan Staite from Nelson.
He jumped from the 1100-metre high Eagle's Beak, hit a rocky outcrop about halfway down and fell to his death, news site La Gazzetta del Mezzogiorno earlier reported.
His step-brother, Motueka real estate Paul Davis, told Fairfax that Mr Staite was a free spirit who loved skydiving and base jumping, which he had taken up several years ago.
Mr Staite had been in Europe since February after a stint working as a geologist for a mining company in Western Australia.
He grew up in Nelson and Christchurch and attended Canterbury University.
His family are flying to Italy on Tuesday.
Fellow base jumper Marco Regino, who described Mr Staite as his "Kiwi brother", says Mr Staite "left this world doing what he loved the most".
He was "an amazing person, always smiling, super relaxed and super slow while talking... just one of the coolest friend I met," Mr Regina said in a tribute on Facebook.
Mr Regino ended the tribute by saying: "I love you, fly free".
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman earlier told NZ Newswire the ministry was aware of a death in Italy.
In July, 31-year-old New Zealander Alan McCandlish died in Switzerland after he hit a rock wall while base jumping.
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