A 21-year-old woman died in Brazil after instructors failed to attach a rope before helping her jump from a bridge in an extreme sports accident. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas fell 40 meters (130 feet) from the abandoned bridge in São Paulo state on Saturday and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Footage posted on social media shows two men in white helmets holding Rodrigues de Freitas by her arms while a third holds her feet. As she is cast off the bridge, an onlooker screams at the instructors to attach her cord. The three men were wearing harnesses attached to a security rope.
Police are investigating whether the men are culpable of homicide with eventual intent, according to local news site Globo.
Rodrigues de Freitas was buried the following day. Rope-jumping differs from bungee jumping as it uses low-stretch climbing ropes that convert the fall into a horizontal pendulum swing.
The bridge, called "Skeleton Bridge," has been abandoned for years and is under federal responsibility. Brazil's Secretariat of Federal Assets said it was available to assist investigations. The City Hall of Limeira announced it would sue the federal government for failing to manage the bridge, calling the death "unsustainable and unacceptable."
Local officials said the instructors belonged to a private company, though some reports suggest they were part of informal groups.