Staff Forgot To Attach Safety Rope, 21-Year-Old Woman Dies After Bungee Jump From 40-Meter Bridge
Brazil — Three instructors have been charged with murder following the death of 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas during a bungee-jumping activity in Limeira, near São Paulo, on June 13.
According to the initial investigation, Maria was pushed from the 40-meter-high Skeleton Bridge while the safety rope had not been properly attached. She fell to the ground below and died at the scene from multiple traumatic injuries.
A total of six people were detained and questioned in connection with Maria’s death. Among them, three instructors — Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42 — were charged with murder.
The three men are believed to be the same individuals seen in a video circulating online, which shows them lifting Maria before pushing her from the bridge. However, after the jump, she fell straight down because she was not protected by a safety rope.
Police said two of the three instructors fled immediately after realizing what had happened. Maria’s fiancé witnessed the horrifying incident and later had to be taken to hospital in shock.
A military helicopter was deployed and located the two fleeing suspects in a nearby wooded area.
Lead investigator Andréa Dantas Levy said two of the main suspects claimed they had suffered “temporary memory loss” and could not remember whether the safety rope had been attached.
“They said they did not remember where or when the mistake happened, or who was responsible for attaching the rope but failed to do so. The third man, who was holding Maria’s legs, said he had only been called over to help with the push,” Levy said.
Three other people who had been detained were employees responsible for handing out wristbands to customers at a tent near the bungee-jumping area. They have since been released.
According to authorities, Maria and her fiancé had purchased a guided tour from a private company that included the bungee-jumping activity. The jump reportedly cost around $36, with an additional $30 fee for customers who wanted to use a company-provided GoPro camera to record the experience.
However, the GoPro device that was allegedly with Maria during the jump has not been found beneath the bridge.
Local officials said the company organizing the bungee-jumping activity was operating without a license. Authorities believe the deadly incident was caused by a serious failure to inspect and supervise the safety rope attachment before Maria was pushed from the bridge.
An off-duty nurse who happened to be near the scene rushed to help Maria after the fall. According to her account, Maria was still barely breathing immediately afterward, but later died at the scene due to the severity of her injuries.
All three main suspects remain in pretrial detention on murder charges. Judge Paulo Henrique Stahlberg Natal said the decision to keep them in custody was based on their attempt to flee and concerns that releasing them could create a risk of similar dangerous conduct being repeated.
If convicted, the three men could face prison sentences ranging from six to 30 years.
Skeleton Bridge was built around 30 years ago for a railway line that is no longer in operation. In recent years, the abandoned bridge has become a popular spot for extreme sports enthusiasts.
Following the tragedy, the Limeira City Council is expected to file a complaint with Brazil’s federal government over the lack of security and safety measures around the abandoned bridge, a location that had long been known to pose serious risks.
