21-year-old dies after bridge jump without attached safety rope in Brazil
The 21-year-old, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, was participating in a guided rope-jumping excursion in São Paulo, Brazil, when she was pushed from the Ponte do Esqueleto, or "Skeleton Bridge."
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BRAZIL - A young woman fell to her death on Saturday after she was pushed off a bridge without proper bungee cord equipment.
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The 21-year-old, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, was participating in a guided rope-jumping excursion in São Paulo, Brazil, when she was pushed from the Ponte do Esqueleto, or "Skeleton Bridge," according to local news reports.
The bridge was once part of a railway structure, but has been inactive for about 30 years.
First phase of bungee jump
A video circulating on social media shows three staff members carrying de Freitas with her arms outstretched to the edge of the bridge before pushing her approximately 130 feet without being tied to a safety rope.
De Freitas appeared to be wearing a helmet and holding a Go Pro at the time of the accident.
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After she was thrown off the bridge, a witness filming the incident shouted in Portuguese, "Guys, the rope!"
It was then that the guides appeared to realize what had happened.
Skeleton Bridge located in Limeira, Brazil.
(City Hall of Limeira / FOX Weather)
According to local news outlets, emergency crews responded to the scene, where she was pronounced dead.
The three men in the video, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were arrested and charged on Sunday with homicide with eventual intent, per local reports.
"A young woman of just 21 lost her life in a tragedy that should never have happened," Mayor Murilo Felix said in a social media post. "More than sorry, action must be taken so that no other family has to go through such a pain."
Both rope-jumping and bungee-jumping are known to be high-altitude thrill sports, but they work differently.
Bungee jumping uses a highly elastic rubber cord to create a vertical bouncing motion, while rope jumping uses static, low-stretch climbing ropes to turn the initial freefall into a large horizontal pendulum swing.
Young man bungee jumping over river.
It is not clear if de Freitas had previous rope-jumping experience.
The City Hall of Limeira said they will sue the federal government in the wake of this tragedy.
"The responsibility for the inspection, maintainence and access control of the Skeleton Bridge lies exclusively with the federal government," city officials said in a statement.