Brazilian Woman Dies in Bungee Jump Accident from 130-Foot Bridge

A 21-year-old woman who plunged from a 130-foot bridge during an unlicensed bungee jump in Brazil was still alive when rescuers reached her, according to a nurse who rushed to help after the fall. Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died on Saturday after she was launched from the abandoned Ponte do Esqueleto, or Skeleton Bridge, near São Paulo. The staff failed to properly secure her safety equipment before the jump, leaving her without a bungee cord. The incident was captured on video and later went viral on social media. Footage showed three employees lifting Rodrigues de Freitas into position before pushing her from the bridge. She was wearing a harness, but there was no rope attached. Rayza Dias, an off-duty nurse who was at the scene. She immediately made her way down the steep embankment beneath the bridge to reach the injured student. “I scraped my whole hand because there’s a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down,” Dias told Brazilian television programme Domingo Espetacular. “It was all covered in mud. I kept going down, down, we walked all the way,” she said, adding that Rodrigues de Freitas was alive when she reached her. “I even talked to her. I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘Nobody dies on my shift.’ And I told her, ‘Duda [Eduarda], nobody dies on my shift.’ Even though I wasn’t on my shift there,” she said. Emergency medical teams were called to the scene, but Rodrigues de Freitas later died from her injuries. A military police helicopter was also dispatched for the rescue. The incident occurred during a bungee jumping excursion that included a guided hike and a jump from the decommissioned bridge, which stands around 130 feet high. Authorities have since launched a criminal investigation into the operators running the activity. Six people were taken to Limeira Police Station for questioning following the death. Three men aged 27, 32 and 42 remain under arrest on suspicion of homicide involving recklessness, which prosecutors say applies when a person acts knowing their conduct could result in death. Two of the suspects attempted to flee after the incident and were later tracked down with the assistance of a military helicopter. Three other individuals linked to the site were detained but later released without charge. Lawyers representing the three arrested men told Jornal Nacional that the operators were experienced in organising bungee jumps and that this was the first fatality after years of running such activities. However, local authorities said the group lacked the necessary credentials and was not authorised to operate at the bridge.