Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, plunged to her death after bungee jumping staff allegedly forgot to attach a rope to her before throwing her from a 130ft foot high bridge
A bungee jumper was still alive when she was found after being thrown from a 130ft high bridge by staff who allegedly forgot to attach her to a rope.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, died after she was tossed from Skeleton bridge in Limeira, in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state. Video showed the moment Maria was held up by workers who proceeded to throw her from the bridge.
But it appeared a safety rope was not attached to her harness and that she plummeted to the ground. Somehow, the aspiring teacher did not immediately die from her injuries, said a nurse who came to her rescue.
Rayza Dias told Brazilian media that Maria was still breathing and had a weak pulse when she attempted to give emergency aid. She added: “I even talked to her. I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘Nobody dies on my shift’.
“And I told her, ‘Duda, nobody dies on my shift’. Even though I wasn’t on my shift there.” Duda is a nickname in Portuguese for the name Eduarda.
Police said workers allegedly changed their clothes and attempted to flee the area after Maria was thrown from the bridge. They were arrested shortly afterward after a helicopter tracked them down.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were later charged with homicide with implied malice. The suspects then reportedly told police they could not remember who was meant to attach the rope.
Officers arrested three others as well. Luis Felipe, who claimed to have earned £26 per jump, told police that equipment checks were carried out “jointly.” When asked who was ultimately responsible for the final checks, he reportedly told police: “I can’t remember.”
Their lawyer Rafael Gomes dos Santos added: “They are in a state of shock. They cannot explain what happened because they have been doing this for years. Nothing like this has ever happened.”
A few hours before his death, Maria shared several posts on social media where she said she was excited for the jump that would ultimately lead to her fatal plunge. Brazilian MP Andrea Dantas Levy told the country’s media that the company who carried out the bungee jumps from the bridge “didn’t even have authorisation to be there.”
The investigation into the fatal plunge continues.
