VANCOUVER - The BC Coroners Service says a 40-year-old man has died in a "speed-flying" accident.

Speed-flying is a new sport similar to paragliding, but uses a significantly smaller wing, designed to provide a rapid descent.

The coroners' service issued a release saying Kyle Macdonald-Wolochatuk was speed-flying near Squamish on Sunday when he hit a tree.

The man took off from the first peak of the granite cliffs of the Stawamus Chief mountain shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday.

He hit the tree shortly after taking off, then fell about 500 metres to the bottom of the cliff and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The agency says Macdonald-Wolochatuk had been living in Squamish, but was originally from Cambridge, Ont.