Base jumper bounces off concrete pillar in BACKWARDS jump off a bridge in 360-degree footage [Video]

Close call! Moment base jumper bounces off concrete pillar during 900ft plunge off the world’s tallest bridge

• A base jumper had a close call bouncing off a pillar of the world’s tallest bridge
• A hair-raising clip shows him hit a column of the 900ft Millau Viaduct in France
• Luckily, his parachute is unaffected by the impact and he manages to land safely
• Afterwards, the man from Mountain Man BASE said it was one of his closest calls

By Stewart Carr For Mailonline

Published: 10:37 GMT, 10 March 2022 | Updated: 11:56 GMT, 10 March 2022

This is the heart-pumping moment a base jumper narrowly avoids disaster when he bounces off a concrete pillar as he leaps off the world’s tallest bridge. 

Footage filmed on a 360-degree camera shows the adrenaline junkie, known only as Josh, collide into the huge column after he jumps backwards off the parapet of the 900ft Millau Viaduct in France last month.

Incredibly, Josh manages to just glance the concrete and keep control of his parachute which is fortunately unaffected by the close call.

Hit: Footage captured the moment that base jumper Josh hit the pillar shortly after his jump from the Millau Viaduct in France

 A 360-degree video shows Josh collide into the bridge but he manages to regain control within moments

Afterwards Josh, an extreme sports professional from Mountain Man BASE, joked that he had given the bridge ‘a good polish’ before admitting it was one of his closest calls. 

The footage shared on Instagram on February 13 shows Josh leaping off the bridge showing all the confidence of a consummate professional.

He successfully deploys his parachute – which opens widely as his fall slows right down.

But disaster nearly strikes when he floats backwards and his body collides with the pillar of the bridge.

Luckily, the parachute is unaffected by the impact and he manages to manoeuvre away from the structure.

Sharing the footage on Instagram, the Mountain Man Base team joked: ‘All explicit language has been muted for the making of this video.’

Speaking afterwards, Josh said: ‘I was performing an intentional stunt whereby the parachute is dangled below and I then jump backwards.

360-degree footage shows Josh high in the sky as he jumps backward from the bridge and prepares to deploy his parachute

Top of the world: The footage shows the extreme height of the drop – which nearly turned disastrous after the close call with the bridge

‘A slight breeze in the correct direction can be beneficial for the stunt to be performed successfully.

‘I ended up tapping the pillar with the side of my bum and leg. I gave the pillar a good polish.

‘It’s one of the closest calls I’ve had.

‘Whenever I am trying something new it always brings up a degree of anticipation and nerves.’

As the world’s tallest bridge, the Millau Viaduct even stands 62ft higher than the Eiffel Tower.

It spans the Tarn river valley in the Massif Central near the town of Millau.

Its deck height is 890ft while the masts add an additional 280ft – making its highest point more than 1,100ft from the bottom of the valley.

It was designed by French engineer Michael Virlogeux and the English architect, Sir Norman Foster.

The viaduct forms part of the A75 to A71 autoroute between Paris, Beziers, and Montpellier.

The bridge cost nearly €310million to build and officially opened for business in 2004.

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