21-year-old woman dead after rope jump staff allegedly failed to attach cord – National

A 21-year-old woman fell to her death after rope jumping staff allegedly forgot to attach a safety cord before the instructors threw her from a bridge in Brazil.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was thrown from the Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned bridge in the municipality of Limeira, São Paulo, on Saturday, according to The Associated Press.

The woman appeared to be launched from the bridge airplane-style, with two instructors hoisting her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms.

Footage shared online shows two men launching Freitas into a 40-metre abyss, allegedly without attaching her to any security equipment, as people around the group screamed at the instructors to attach her to the cord.

The instructors are wearing harnesses that appear to be attached to a security rope.

A police helicopter was called for rescue, but Freitas died at the scene, according to Brazilian outlet G1.

Police in Brazil have arrested three men who worked for the company offering rope jumps over the young woman’s death, The Associated Press reports.

Officials have also initiated an investigation that could reportedly lead to murder charges.

The City Hall of Limeira announced that it will sue the federal government following Freitas’ death on the bridge, known as the Skeleton Bridge.

“Since the beginning of 2025, the municipal administration had been adopting administrative measures and demanding action from the federal bodies responsible for the area,” the City Hall of Limeira said in a statement. “The tragedy this Saturday (13), which resulted in the death of a 21-year-old woman, makes the continuation of this omission unsustainable and unacceptable.”

The City Hall of Limeira said that the responsibility for the inspection, maintenance and access control of the Skeleton Bridge lies exclusively with the federal government.

“Beyond the circumstances that led to the young woman’s death, it is necessary to investigate the responsibility for the lack of access control to a federal area that, for years, has presented known risks and continues without the necessary protection measures. The city hall and the city council have been demanding action for months so that the federal government assumes its responsibility,” Mayor Murilo Félix said.

“Unfortunately, the federal government’s omission has just resulted in yet another tragedy in Limeira,” Félix added.

Rope jumping is an extreme sport that differs from bungee jumping in the type of cord used and the resulting motion of the fall. Bungee jumping uses elastic rubber cords that create a vertical, bouncing effect, whereas rope jumping uses low-stretch climbing ropes that convert the fall into a horizontal, pendulum swing.

In 2023, a tourist visiting an adventure park in Thailand faced a near-death experience while bungee jumping as the bungee cord snapped during the descent.

Footage of the incident shows the man in free fall when the bungee cord wrapped around his feet snaps, mere milliseconds before the end of the descent. The man’s body slammed into the water below at high speed.

He was able to swim back to the surface but his ankles were still bound together by what remained of the bungee cord.

Staff from the park helped the man out of the water and he was rushed to a local hospital.

—with files from The Associated Press

&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.