Brazil woman dies after rope-jumping instructors fail to attach cord
A woman has died in a tragic extreme sports accident in Brazil.
Three men have been arrested over the incident, in which instructors tied him with a rope before helping him jump from a bridge in São Paulo state.
Footage of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas being taken to the edge of an abandoned bridge and released on Saturday went viral over the weekend. He fell 40 meters (130 ft) and emergency services pronounced him dead at the scene.
Police are now investigating whether the men are guilty of murder with ultimate intent, where someone had no direct intention but assumed the risk of killing – local news site Globo reports.
[BBC]
The incident took place in Ponte do Esqueleto, on the border of Limeira and Cordeirópolis, in the inner city of São Paulo, Brazil.
In the images published on social media, two men in white helmets are seen holding 21-year-old Rodrigues de Freitas by his arms, while a third person is holding his feet from behind.
When he is thrown off the bridge, a bystander yells at the instructors to tie his lanyard.
The three men were wearing harnesses that appeared to be attached to a safety rope.
Rodrigues de Freitas was buried the next day.
Rope jumping is an extreme sport that is different from bungee jumping.
While low-stretch climbing ropes are used that transform the fall into a horizontal, pendulum swing, bungee jumping uses an elastic rubber cord that creates a vertical, bouncing effect.
The bridge, called the “Skeleton Bridge”, has been abandoned for years and is the responsibility of the federal government. Brazil’s Federal Secretariat of Assets (SPU) said it was “ready to assist authorities in investigations.”
Limeira City Hall (SP) announced that it will sue the federal government for failing to adequately manage the bridge.
He said he was “taking administrative measures and demanding that the federal institutions responsible for the region take action.”
The statement said that the death of Rodrigues de Freitas “makes the continuation of this neglect unsustainable and unacceptable.”
Local authorities said the instructors belonged to a private company that offered rope jumping activities, but some local reports suggested they belonged to unofficial groups of practitioners.
