Swiss FIS World Cup skier Gian Luca Barandun has died in a paragliding accident ©Twitter

Swiss World Cup downhill skier Gian Luca Barandun has died in a paragliding accident at the age of 24.

The Swiss Ski Federation has announced that Barandun, thought to be one of the country's best prospects in Alpine speed races, had tragically passed away.

"In this difficult period all of the Swiss ski family is thinking of Gian Luca's family," Markus Wolf, the Federation's director general, said.

Barandun started in eight World Cup downhill races.

He placed 15th in Switzerland's signature race, the Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, in January.

Gian Luca Barandun’s career-best World Cup result was a ninth-place finish in an Alpine combined event in Bormio in December ©Getty Images
Gian Luca Barandun’s career-best World Cup result was a ninth-place finish in an Alpine combined event in Bormio in December ©Getty Images  

He also had 20th-place finishes in downhills in Val Gardena and Bormio, Italy, last December.

Barandun's career-best World Cup result was a ninth-place finish in an Alpine combined event in Bormio in December.

"FIS sends its deepest condolences to family members, friends, team-mates and the Swiss Ski Association," an International Ski Federation statement said.