Famed BASE Jumper Felix Baumgartner Killed In Paragliding Accident

Felix Baumgartner -- an Austrian BASE jumper and skydiver who set a record after jumping from the stratosphere down to Earth back in 2012 -- has died while paragliding in Italy ... according to a local outlet.

He was 56 years old.

According to La Repubblica, he was paragliding in Porto Sant'Elpidio when he became ill and lost control of his aircraft. He ended up crashing into a hotel swimming pool ... injuring a woman, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

After crashing, he reportedly lost consciousness before going into cardiac arrest.

Five days ago, he posted that he was in the country on holiday. On Wednesday, he posted a video of himself working on his paraglider on his Instagram.

Baumgartner gained global fame after his high-altitude jump from a helium balloon in the stratosphere over New Mexico in October 2012. He reached speeds of 843 MPH in his descent ... even breaking the sound barrier.

His accomplishment beat the record set back in 1960 by Air Force Colonel Joseph Kittinger ... who mentored him for the moment.