Famous China rooftopper 'confirmed dead' after fall from skyscraper

A famous Chinese ‘rooftopper’ fell to his death from a skyscraper in a daring £11,000 challenge as he sought to use his fame to help lift his family out of poverty, media reported.

Wu Yongning, aged 26, fell from the summit of the 62-storey Huayuan Hua Centre in the central city of Changsha, apparently as he attempted to scoop 100,000 yuan (£11,200) for a clip promoting an unnamed sponsor, reports say.

The former movie stuntman had one million followers on the Chinese Internet and was well known for fearlessly scaling towering skyscrapers without any safety equipment.

More than 300 videos of him tip-toeing on scaffolding or doing pull-ups as he hung from the side of huge buildings were widely shared by his fans.

However, his account on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, went silent around a month ago after he purportedly attempted the Changsha skyscraper.

And last Friday his girlfriend wrote online: "Today is December 8th. It makes me think of November 8th, the day you left us and left this world.”

The Changsha Evening News said Mr Wu was seeking to make money for his poverty-striken family and pay medical costs for his mother, who suffers from a mental condition.

Local officials said authorities would support his family following the accident. 

Police confirmed that Mr Wu died when he fell from the Huayuan Hua Centre on November 8, reports said.

His family were quoted in a news portal run by Beijing News that he was due to receive a huge cash payout for a two minute clip on a Changsha skyscraper on the same date.

Additional reporting by Christine Wei