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A man has died in a zorbing accident after the giant inflatable ball he was strapped into fell off a cliff edge.

Father-of-two Denis Burakov, 27, broke his neck and spine when the out-of-control orb hurtled down a mountain at the Dombai ski resort in southern Russia.

His friend Vladimir Shcherbov, 33, who was in the ball with him, escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

The accident was caught on camera by his friends.

The footage shows the pair climbing into the ball, and one friend can be heard saying: "Denis, you'll be like Jackie Chan in the Armour of God movie."

Two members of resort staff then push the orb down the piste, and another staff member is on hand at the bottom to stop it.

But as it neared the gathered crowd it suddenly veered left, and a man's voice can be heard saying: "Oh ****, it’s gone in the wrong direction again."

He screamed to "hold it" but then said: "It's OK, it'll stop by itself."

The orb sped out of control and disappeared from view over a cliff edge. It travelled for nearly a mile before coming to a halt on a frozen lake.

Russian crash investigators said in a statement: "For unknown reasons the ball deviated from the route and fell into the Gonachkhir gorge - a slope of 70-80 degrees."

Authorities are interviewing eyewitnesses and relatives of the victims, as they decide whether to launch criminal proceedings.

Zorbs have been adopted as a symbol on the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.