Brazilian Model Dies in Extreme Sports Accident After Safety Harness Was Not Attached

A 21-year-old Brazilian model, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, died after being thrown from a bridge in Limeira, in São Paulo state, during an extreme sports attraction called Ponte do Escalato. Investigators say the crew released her from the bridge without connecting her harness to the safety rope. Video from the incident reportedly shows workers lifting her in a “Superman” position and sending her over the railing while the loose rope lay on the ground below.

Witnesses screamed in panic, but she fell about 40 meters. New details from the investigation say she was still alive for minutes after the fall. Raiza Dias, a nursing assistant who was among the first on scene, said she ran to Maria despite the difficult terrain and found her with a weak pulse. “I even spoke to her,” Dias said. “I told her, ‘No one dies on my shift.’ That’s what I say to all my patients.” She gave the woman first aid until rescue teams arrived, but Maria was later pronounced dead.

After the accident, some workers reportedly changed clothes and fled the site, but were later arrested. Three instructors, Luis Felipe Feliciano Agoroff, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, and Maicon Fernandes Sintra, have been charged with manslaughter. Police say they told investigators they do not remember who was responsible for attaching the rope.

Brazilian authorities are also examining whether the attraction was operating without proper authorization. One local lawmaker said the company running the site was not licensed to operate there. For Maria’s family, that adds to the anger over what they see as a preventable death caused by a basic safety failure.