Skydiver killed in horror accident hours after making poignant Instagram post

Budding businessman Gabriel Farrel died in a horrific accident when his parachute failed to open after he jumped from an aircraft in the skies of Rio de Janeiro

A businessman-turned-skydiver made a poignant social media^[1] post just a day before a terrifying accident took his life.

Gabriel Farrel, who made his name in Brazil^[2] as an established pizza entrepreneur, jumped from an aircraft above Rio de Janeiro^[3]‘s Reserva Beach when his parachute reportedly failed to open. The 31-year-old was taken to hospital where he died as a result of his injuries.

Just 24-hours prior, however, he would post a heart-warming video which showed him running with his dog on Conrado Beach, captioned: “Valuing life is daily. It’s free, it’s unmissable”. Now his death has been announced to his over 65,000 Instagram^[4] followers — and the over 60,000 he has on TikTok — tributes have been paid to Gabriel.

READ MORE: Mystery as experienced skydiver Sandro Bigozzi plunges nearly 5,000ft to death^[5]READ MORE: Skydiving horror as married dad dies after ‘losing grip’ and smashing into ground^[6]

One reads: “You were one of the most upbeat, joyful people I’ve ever met,” while another added: “You brought pure light wherever you went.”

A third, Vinicius Lousada, would post a truly emotional message to honour the culinary connoisseur: “Surreal your last post had these words written. You were really a person who always put a lot of energy and intensity into life and business.

“Thank you for the exchanges and even unintentionally, you have taught a lot of people how to really live this passage that we call life. I’m sure you will miss your closest brothers and your family for all that you represented here. Rest in peace my brother.”

Gabriel started as a trained engineer before he left the profession to follow his passion for cooking, founding the locally beloved Borda & Lenha pizzeria chain. It began as a mobile pizzeria for events but would later expand to delivery before growing to over 70 franchises across Brazil.

He would gain wider recognition in 2021 after appearing on Shark Tank Brazil where he secured sufficient investment to grow his business even further.

Away from the pizza oven, Gabriel was an avid user of social media and often shared thoughts and tips on entrepreneurship, as well as posting videos of him trying out a wide range of extreme sports like powered paragliding and BASE jumping.

It comes just a few months after avid skydiver Jade Damarell plummeted to her death at 15,500ft^[7] just hours after breaking up^[8] with her boyfriend. The 32-year-old died after crashing onto farmland in the village of Shotton Colliery, Co Durham, on April 27.

The marketing manager, who was born in Hong Kong and lived in Caerphilly, Wales, was an experienced skydiver who had accomplished more than 400 jumps. She ‘made no attempt’ to activate her parachute or the back up device on the day that she died.

The back up system, known as Automatic Activation Device (AAD), would have opened when her main shoot did not open if it had been switched on. During her inquest, Dr Leslie Hamilton concluded that her death was by suicide.