hree instructors in Brazil are facing homicide charges after a 21-year-old woman fell to her death during a guided rope-jumping experience from a bridge.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died Saturday, June 13, after plunging from the Ponte do Esqueleto, or Skeleton Bridge, in Limeira, a city in São Paulo state.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were arrested the next day and charged with homicide with eventual intent, according to reports.
Under Brazilian law, that charge can apply when someone engages in conduct that carries a fatal risk, even if there was no alleged intent to kill.
Authorities said the men were detained on Sunday, June 14, after allegedly trying to flee. They remained in custody as of Monday, June 15.
De Freitas had reportedly purchased a guided rope-jumping experience from the abandoned railway bridge.
Rope jumping is different from traditional bungee jumping. Instead of bouncing on an elastic cord, participants are attached to climbing ropes that swing them beneath the structure.
But investigators allege de Freitas was not connected to safety ropes before she was sent off the bridge.
Police investigator Andrea Levy said the three instructors acknowledged that de Freitas had not been attached to the safety ropes. They reportedly told authorities they could not remember who was responsible for checking her equipment before the jump.
Witnesses told Brazil’s Military Police that de Freitas was thrown from the bridge without a rope attached and fell about 40 meters, or roughly 131 feet.
Emergency crews, including a police helicopter, rushed to the scene, but de Freitas died there.
Videos shared online appear to show the horrifying moments before the fatal fall. In footage described by Brazilian media, de Freitas is seen wearing a helmet as staff members carry her toward the edge of the bridge before throwing her over.
Other footage reportedly shows two men lifting her above their heads while a third stands nearby. No visible safety cord can be seen in the video, according to reports.
Moments after the fall, a witness filming the jump reportedly pointed to a rope still lying on the bridge and shouted, “Guys, the rope!”
Authorities believe the fatal incident may have been caused by a major breakdown in safety procedures.
“It was a team there that wasn’t regulated; they didn’t even have authorization to be there,” Delegate Andrea Dantas Levy told G1. “They ended up organizing this event, and this fatality happened today, in my perception, due to a failure to verify and supervise the placement of the rope on the victim’s jump.”
The defense attorney for the three men said it was the first fatality in the years they had been operating, according to G1.
The tragedy has also raised serious questions about the bridge itself and why the site was being used for extreme sports.
The Limeira City Council reportedly plans to file a complaint against Brazil’s federal government, arguing the area had known risks for years and did not have adequate protections in place.
“It is necessary to determine responsibility for the lack of access control to a federal area that has presented known risks for years and still lacks the necessary protection measures,” Mayor Murilo Félix said, according to The Mirror.
Before her death, de Freitas had recently graduated in physical education and sports management.
Third World country…. coming soon to Amerika