Brazil Bungee Jumping Tragedy Leaves 21-Year-Old Student Dead

A 21-year-old Brazilian student, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, died over the weekend after a bungy jumping accident on the so-called Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, in São Paulo state. She had arrived at the site with her fiancé for an extreme-sports experience, but was killed when instructors allegedly threw her off the bridge without attaching the bungy cord. She fell about 40 meters to her death.

Minutes before the jump, de Freitas posted on Instagram, jokingly writing, "Who is the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge???" The remark, meant as a lighthearted pre-jump message, became her final post before she plunged to her death in front of her shocked fiancé. Video circulating on social media shows two workers holding her, one by the legs and one by the upper body in a Superman-style position, before tossing her over the edge.

Police, rescue teams, and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene, but medics pronounced her dead there and her body was sent for forensic examination. Brazilian police opened a broad investigation and arrested six people. Authorities said the company operating the jumps had no authorization to operate at the bridge, and the suspects’ lawyers said the workers were experienced but could not explain why required safety checks were not done immediately before the jump.

Two of the suspects tried to flee into nearby woods, prompting an aerial manhunt that ended with their capture and arrest. Friends and family said de Freitas was a beautiful young woman with many dreams, and a close friend said her mother had said only three days earlier that her greatest fear was losing one of her children. Her fitness club, where she worked as an instructor, suspended all activity and published a tribute calling her dedication, affection, and respect unforgettable.