Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas Dies in Bungee Jump No Rope Fall
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died on Saturday after a bungee jump no rope launch from Ponte do Esqueleto in Limeira, Brazil. The 21-year-old was thrown from the abandoned bridge without first being attached to safety ropes.
Ponte do Esqueleto Fall
Police investigator Andrea Levy said on Monday that the three jumping instructors involved acknowledged that De Freitas was not connected to safety ropes when she jumped. Levy also said the instructors have been arrested and could face manslaughter charges.
De Freitas had asked to be launched from the bridge airplane-style. Two instructors hoisted her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms, then launched her into a 40-metre abyss. Footage shared online shows the men in white helmets sending her off without attaching her to any security equipment, while an onlooker can be heard screaming at them to attach her to a cord.
Levy’s Monday Account
“They do not remember whether they forgot to attach (the ropes), or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check. But the fact is the ropes were not attached to her.”
The setup at Ponte do Esqueleto is also part of what makes the case stand out. Rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes that turn a fall into a horizontal, pendulum swing, while bungee jumping uses elastic rubber cords that create a vertical, bouncing effect. Here, the safety system was not in place at all.
Limeira Arrests
The arrest of three instructors turns the death into a criminal case as well as a fatal sports accident. What police said on Monday leaves the focus on the same point: the harness was never attached before the launch, and that failure now sits at the center of the investigation in São Paulo state.
For anyone using the site for extreme sports, the immediate consequence is plain. The death in Limeira is now tied to arrest decisions, a possible manslaughter case, and the question of who checked the ropes before Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was sent off the bridge.
