Henry Samuel
Warning: graphic content
A 21-year-old woman fell to her death from a bridge in Brazil after crews allegedly threw her over the edge without attaching her to a bungee rope.
María Eduardo Rodríguez de Freitas was killed in front of horrified witnesses on the Ponte do Escalito, an abandoned railway bridge in Lameira, São Paulo, when workers launched her from a 40-meter drop in a “Superman” pose.
Footage of the moments before the fall shows two crew members carrying him horizontally over the edge by his arms and legs, apparently unaware that his harness was not attached to the main rope.
As he was released, voices could be heard running: “Rope, people, rope.”
The camera then pans to show the safety line on the platform as Ms. Rodrigues de Freitas falls to the ground below.
Firefighters and paramedics were called, but he was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple injuries.
Witnesses told military police that the employees had forgotten to put on safety equipment before jumping.
Six people were taken to Lemera’s second police district, with three reportedly arrested at the scene. Brazilian media say that after the fall, two people tried to run into the nearby forest, but were captured with the help of a police helicopter.
The jump involved Entre Cordas, a bungee rope jump operator, and Ih Voei, an affiliated instructor brand. According to Brazilian reports, crews at the scene were wearing shirts bearing the names of both brands.
The two had not issued a public statement as of Saturday night, while Entre Cordas’ Instagram page, which advertised a “leap into the extraordinary,” was reportedly taken down following the tragedy.
Ms. Rodrigues de Freitas from Jindera had enthusiastically posted about the trip a few hours earlier, sharing photos of the location, her ID bracelets and the operators.
“Who was the madman who let me jump off the bridge?” he wrote alongside a photo of an Entre Cordas banner.
Lemera City Hall said it would file a lawsuit against Brazil’s federal government, claiming it had warned for months about the dangerous access to the bridge, which it said was under federal responsibility.
Police are investigating whether negligence contributed to Ms Rodriguez de Freitas’ death.
The Telegraph, London
Get a note directly from our foreigner. Correspondents On what is making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter..
