Skydivers flew under the arch of Tower Bridge for the first time (9 photos + 1 video)

In London, two skydivers flew across Tower Bridge at a speed of 245 km/h. Austrian Red Bull team paratroopers Marco Fürst and Marco Waltenspiel made the world's first flight under the arch of a British landmark.





On Sunday morning, extreme sports enthusiasts jumped from a helicopter at an altitude of 915 m and dived into the span of the bridge.



The partners completed more than 200 practice jumps and were trained on a site in Oxfordshire, where two cranes stood, simulating the dimensions of the Tower Bridge.

According to Marco, they were nervous before the jump, but they were focused.

"We had to get up at three o'clock in the morning, so we only got four or five hours of sleep, it was difficult to sleep because of the excitement," Furst said.







They flew over Tower Bridge and performed a complex maneuver to rise again to an altitude of 80 meters and deploy their parachutes before landing safely.

Their dizzying flight lasted 45 seconds, they covered a distance of 1.2 kilometers and reached a maximum speed of 245 km/h.



Furst shared: “It was incredible, a dream come true.”

Waltenspiel said: "We got on the helicopter 20 minutes early and then flew to London, the sunrise was amazing, the city looked beautiful. We got close to the bridge and got into action."

Wingsuit flight allows skydivers to glide horizontally at high speeds and then land safely on the ground.





“Once we were in the helicopter, we got everything ready and realized that now was the time to shine, so we were calm and the jump turned out to be cool. We are very happy, satisfied, everything went well.”

Furst added: "I feel absolutely amazing. The jump was great, everything worked out. I'm very grateful to have worked with Marco and such a good team to help make our dream come true."



Fürst and Waltenspiel are part of the Red Bull Skydive Team and have completed more than 22,000 jumps in places including the Croatian island of Galesnjak and the Streif ski slope in Kitzbühel, Austria.



A Red Bull spokesman said Tower Bridge was closed for jumping: "Red Bull worked closely with authorities to obtain permission for this world-first jump and carried it out to the highest safety standards."