Bungee workers ‘can’t remember’ who was supposed to attach safety cord before model plunged to death
The workers of a bungee company who threw a model to her death after her safety cord was unattached have appeared in court.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, fell to her death in front of horrified witnesses, who can be heard shouting: ‘the rope people, the rope.’
The teacher was seen being carried in a Superman pose before being hurled to her death down a 130ft drop off the Skeleton bridge in Limeira, São Paulo, in Brazil.
A nurse nearby managed to get to Maria who was dying from her injuries.
‘She was breathing heavily. Her pupils were dilated her pulse was weak. I even talked to her… I told her, “Nobody dies on my shift.” Even though I wasn’t on my shift,’ nurse Rayza Dias told reporters.
Three men were arrested for homicide with eventual intent following the tragic death.
They were perp walked to court on Monsay where they claimed there was a ‘blackout’ during the stunt’s set-up, and ‘can’t remember’ who should have attached the safety cord.
The trio remanded in custody after appearing before a judge have been named locally as Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27.
Luis Felipe, who says he earned just £26.50 per jump, told police after his arrest that team members didn’t have set responsibilities during the jumps and equipment checks were carried out ‘jointly.’
Quizzed on who was responsible for the final safety checks for Maria Eduarda’s jump, he told police: ‘I can’t remember.’ Maicon Fernandes Cintra reportedly gave cops the same answer.
Their lawyer Rafael Gomes dos Santos claimed overnight: ‘They are in a state of shock. They cannot explain what happened because they have been doing this for years.
‘Nothing like this has ever happened.’
Videos show her being carried horizontally by her arms and legs in a ‘Superman’ pose at the top of Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned railway bridge.
After she is thrown off, instructors look down as the camera pans to show the safety line still lying on the platform.
Maria Eduarda’s devastated mum Valdenia, expressed her grief hours after her daughter’s funeral took place.
She posted online: ‘That damned rope took you away from me forever. My beloved daughter, you are gone and all that remains here is pain and longing. I will love you forever.’
In a series of Instagram stories published moments before she died, the tragic gym worker killed published photos of the representatives of the private company that organised the jump.
Ms Rodrigues de Freitas had uploaded a string of social media posts before the trip, excited about the jump and sharing pictures of the venue.
‘Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?’ she wrote beside a photograph of an Entre Cordas banner.
The jump appeared to involve bungee jump-rope operator Entre Cordas and Ih Voei, a linked instructor brand.
Local media reports staff at the scene were wearing shirts bearing the names of both brands.
Entre Cordas’s Instagram page, which advertised ‘a jump to the extraordinary,’ was reportedly taken down after the death.
