Missing ‘speed flyer’ Dan Hunt found alive in Swiss Alps

Dan Hunt, from Shepherds Bush, was found alive after being missing for three days

Tim Dickens Wednesday, September 19, 2012
10:54 AM

An extreme sports fan from Shepherds Bush has been found alive after 68 hours missing in the Swiss Alps.

Dan Hunt, 33, disappeared after jumping off the 3,400m Jungfraujoch peak wearing “speed flying” equipment. He was discovered yesterday afternoon shouting for help in a wooded canyon, following a massive hunt and a Facebook campaign which raised £14,000.

Friend Tess Riley wrote on the social network site: “This is such brilliant news. The whole of Chiswick cannot wait to have you home.

“Well done and well done to everyone else too for everything that’s been done to make sure Dan is safe and well. Cannot say how delighted we are that you’re ok!”

Speed flying is an extreme sport which involves gliding down a steep slope using a thin strip of material. After Mr Hunt went missing paragliders flew the route he was thought to take, while rescue helicopters and mountain rescue teams scoured the mountain for him.

His friend Ryan Atkinson, who joined the search effort, said he was found with only water and a few snacks but was not badly injured.

Mr Atkinson told BBC London: “Dan is very well known and the whole community has pulled together to help find him.”

When back in London, Mr Hunt runs an organic food shop in Turnham Green, west London.