Rescuers carry the body of wingsuit flier Viktor Kovats out of the mountains in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, on Wednesday. The Hungarian champion failed to open his parachute during a trial jump on Tuesday. Photo: CFP

Hungarian wingsuit flier Viktor Kovats crashed and died in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in Central China's Hunan Province, the park confirmed with the Global Times on Wednesday.

The flier plunged into a valley of Mount Tianmen during a trial flight on Tuesday afternoon after his parachute failed to deploy before landing, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

The incident might be related to a technical error during the trial flight while it was also possible the flier was pushed off course by a gust of wind and crashed into the forest, an unnamed World Wingsuit Championship organizer told Xinhua.

A rescue team of nearly 200 firefighters and policemen responded to the accident. They found Kovats' corpse at the foot of a 100-meter-cliff on Wednesday morning after an overnight search, a park management office staff member told the Global Times.

"We are deeply saddened by Victor Kovats's passing and our thoughts and prayers go out to his parents and friends during these difficult times," a statement read on the World Wingsuit League website.

"He will be always be remembered for his deep passion for life and his spirit of adventure, and he will always be sadly missed in the wingsuit community."

The championships are scheduled to be held at the park from October 11 to 13, an event in which competitors are required to jump off 700-meter cliffs on Tianmen.

It hasn't been determined whether the event will be canceled or continue as scheduled, the planning office of Mount Tianmen Travel Corporation, one of the organizers, told the Global Times.

Wingsuit flying is the sport of flying through the air in a special jumpsuit - also referred to as a birdman, squirrel or bat suit - that adds surface area to the human body to enable a significant increase in lift.

Tragedies are hardly uncommon. British stuntman Mark Sutton, who earned fame parachuting into the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony as a James Bond character, was killed wing-diving near Martigny, Switzerland on August 14. Spanish wingsuiter Álvaro Bultó crashed and died in Switzerland on August 23.