BASE Jumpers leap from the 421-meter Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai yesterday. Thirty-seven foreign and Chinese parachuters jumped from the tower, the tallest building on the Chinese mainland, during 2004 Shanghai Jin Mao Tower International BASE Jumping Show.

Shanghai Daily news

Yesterday's BASE jumping performance from the Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai proved just how exciting and dangerous the sport can be, leaving many fans thrilled but sending one jumper to hospital after an accident during practice in the morning.
An Australian parachute jumper was seriously injured in his trial jump early yesterday morning before the international BASE jumping show.
Roland Simpson, 35, president of the Australian BASE Association, was immediately rushed to the hospital. He was still in surgery last night.
Simpson jumped from the tallest building on the Chinese mainland, the 421-meter-high Jin Mao Tower, as planned but did not land safely. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.
Officials wouldn't say, however, how badly he was hurt.
The show went ahead as scheduled in the afternoon with the remaining 37 professional BASE-jumpers from 16 countries, including six from China, parachuting off of one of the country's largest buildings.
This was the first time that Chinese jumpers participated in a BASE-jumping event, according to the Shanghai Physical Culture Federation.
"Each participant in such an extreme sporting event can be respected as a fearless warrior," said Wu Xinmin, an official with the federation.
Ding Jianping from Henan Province was the first jumper to leap from the tower yesterday afternoon. The other five Chinese jumpers, including three females, debuted successfully, flying with them China's national flag to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.
Several of the jumpers leapt individually, while other jumped in pairs and trios linking up in formations and performing flips in the air.
The Jin Mao Tower BASE jumping show, which debuted last year, has become one of the most spectacular sporting events in the city, said Wu.
According to city sport officials, the show will become an annual event in Shanghai.