Russian Base jumper sets new jump record on Himalayas

Russian Base jumper Valery Rozov has set a new world record with a leap from the top of Shiving, a 6,543m mountain in the Indian Himalayas.

After a 30-day expedition, including a six-day ascent, Mr Rozov, 47, took off from a cliffside. Within seconds he hit speeds of 125mph. The Russian landed 2,200m further down on the glacier, just 90 seconds later. The other expedition members took three days to complete the descent.

"This was my first project in the Himalayas," said the two-time skydiving world champion after his record-breaking flight. "We had a few difficulties along the way, so I am really pleased that we were able to complete the jump successfully."

Mr Rosov is a superstar in Base jumping, an extreme sport which involves jumping from cliffs, bridges, buildings and towers. The Russian's breathtaking feats, such as jumping into an active volcano in Kamchatka, Eastern Russia in 2009 and from Ulvetanna Peak in the Antarctic in 2010, have made him internationally famous.