What is happening here? This Brazilian bridge jumping disaster ended with the death of a 21-year-old woman. She was thrown off the bridge without her safety rope secured. She fell 130 feet to her death, but, as we’ve learned, she was not killed instantly. She was still alive. Three men involved in this reckless operation have been arrested, but none are reportedly being very cooperative. The woman who died was reportedly wearing a GoPro, which was taken by one of the men involved in this fiasco (via NY Post):
🇧🇷 Tragedy in Brazil.
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 13, 2026
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, just 21, died after being thrown from the "Skeleton Bridge" in Limeira for what she thought was a bungee jump.
The cord was NEVER attached.
Six people have reportedly been detained by police.
Heartbreaking.…
One of the bungee jump instructors charged with killing a student in Brazil was allegedly seen removing a GoPro camera from her body after she was thrown 130 feet to her death, according to a witness.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, paid extra for the camera when she signed up for the Saturday jump from “Skeleton Bridge” in Limeira that ended with her plummeting to her death without a rope.
“I remember … seeing one of the employees taking the [camera] handle off the neck, from the body that was already on the floor, the GoPro camera,” Rafael Goulard, who was waiting to jump after Rodrigues de Freitas, told Brazilian TV station EPTV.
He added that it wasn’t clear if the camera was removed due to “concern[s] about the equipment, to hide evidence, or worrie[s] about the [camera’s] financial value.”
Also, the red flags were pervasive, said Chris Batten, who operates a business that does these sorts of thrill adventures:
“What we saw here was pure negligence from many avenues,” he said, adding that for anyone looking at taking part in a rope or bungee jump, there were several key factors to look for.
“I’d say the obvious signs would be, is it run like a business? Is it run like a professional operation? Is there a clear person in charge who is directing other staff?” said Batten, who has more than 30 years of experience bungee jumping.
“There should have been one person in charge who handled everything,” he said.
[…]
“If there’s not one person taking charge and then another person acting as backup, that’s a clear red flag,” Batten said.
The instructor added that the directions for each customer should be clear, and that the operation should be “run like a business.”
After a jump, “the next person has already heard and seen that, yet they get the exact same instruction. And that goes for every person,” Batten explained.
[…]
“I don’t care if there are 20 people there. The 20th person gets the same instructions as the first person did,” he said.
A crucial red flag in the video for Batten was the apparent lack of backups, which should have been in place even if the rope hadn’t been attached.
A light bungee jumper, weighing between 100 and 150 pounds, would “be on a minimum of three bungee cords, at least in the United States,” Batten said.
In the video of de Freitas, only one or two cords are visible on the ground.
Batten emphasized that participants should trust their instincts on these ventures. If something feels off, they should avoid proceeding. In the United States, he noted that it’s a gray area, as there are no formal regulations for this activity, and the responsibility falls on the operators.
He did say that the reason why this story has gone viral is because it was the very definition of preventable.
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