NewsWorld'I even talked to her': Nurse says Brazilian bungee jumper was still alive after 130-foot fall The case has triggered outrage in Brazil, with authorities continuing to examine whether safety procedures were ignored at the unauthorised adventure tourism site.
4 min readJun 16, 2026 11:52 AM IST
First published on: Jun 16, 2026 at 11:52 AM IST
The viral video shows de Freitas being carried in a 'Superman' position by three employees (Photo: @RapidReport2025/X)
A 21-year-old Brazilian woman who was hurled off a 130-foot bridge during an unlicensed bungee jump without a safety cord attached was still alive when an off-duty nurse reached her at the base of the structure, the nurse has revealed.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died after being launched from the abandoned Skeleton Bridge in São Paulo state without a safety rope on Saturday. Local reports said staff members had failed to attach the bungee cord before the jump, and a video of the fall, widely shared online, shows operators escorting her to the edge before she was thrown over the side.JUST IN: 21-year-old dies after workers forget to attach safety rope and push her off 40-meter bridge in São Paulo’s Limeira, Brazil pic.twitter.com/ceqniPJkUs— Rapid Report (@RapidReport2025) June 13, 2026
Nurse Rayza Dias, who rushed to the scene, told Brazilian television network Domingo Espetacular that she scrambled down a steep, muddy slope to reach Rodrigues de Freitas and found her still breathing. “I scraped my whole hand because there’s a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down,” Dias said, describing the difficulty of reaching the victim. “It was all covered in mud. I kept going down, down, we walked all the way.”
Dias said she tried to comfort the young woman as she worked to help her. “I even talked to her. I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘Nobody dies on my shift.’ And I told her, ‘Duda, nobody dies on my shift,'” Dias said, using a common Portuguese nickname for Eduarda, before adding that she had not officially been on duty at the time. Emergency services were called, but Rodrigues de Freitas died at the scene.
According to local reports, the victim had requested to be launched “aeroplane style,” with two instructors lifting her above their shoulders as she stretched out her arms before the fall.
Operators fled, then tracked down by helicopter
Brazil’s military police said two men fled the scene in Limeira shortly after realising the fatal error, and were later traced to a nearby wooded area with the help of a helicopter. The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat confirmed six people were brought in for questioning, with three of those detained subsequently charged with homicide with eventual intent a charge that applies when a suspect did not directly intend to kill but acted with extreme recklessness resulting in death.Story continues below this ad
The three men charged were identified locally as Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, and Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27.
Investigators said the suspects claimed there had been a “blackout” during the setup process and that they could not recall where or when the failure to attach the rope occurred, or who was responsible.
The case has triggered outrage in Brazil, with authorities continuing to examine whether safety procedures were ignored at the unauthorised adventure tourism site.
With inputs from Domingo Espetacular and Brazilian police statements
DISCLAIMER: This article reports on a tragic, fatal sports accident involving an acute injury and severe distress, based on unverified social media footage and early investigative reports. It is published for general informational purposes to document a public safety incident and does not offer professional travel safety, recreational guidance, or legal conclusions.
The Express Global Desk at indianexpress.com which delivers authoritative, verified, and context-driven coverage of key international de
Brazilian bungee jumper who fell 130 feet without a rope was still alive when rescuers reached her, nurse The Times of India
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