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Rope jump death in Brazil
A 21-year-old woman, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, died after being launched from Ponte do Esqueleto, an abandoned bridge in the municipality of Limeira in São Paulo state, during a rope jumping event on Saturday.
Brazilian police investigator Andrea Levy said the instructors involved acknowledged that Freitas was not connected to safety ropes when she jumped, and she was buried on Sunday.
Footage shared online shows two men in white helmets launching Freitas into a 40-meter (130-foot) drop, while an onlooker can be heard shouting for her to be connected to a safety rope.
Levy told journalists that the three instructors involved admitted they were unable to explain how the mistake occurred, and she said they could face manslaughter charges.
Arrests and competing accounts
Levy said, "They do not remember whether they forgot to attach (the ropes), or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check," adding that "the fact is the ropes were not attached to her."
ABC News reported that Levy said the three instructors have been arrested and could face manslaughter charges, while CBS News said police charged three instructors with homicide with "dolus eventualis," meaning they were aware of the risk of death but still proceeded.
CBS News also quoted police as saying, "The safety equipment was not properly secured at the time of the jump. The victim did not survive the fall," and it described the victim as having fallen about 40 meters (131 feet).
In a separate account, Global News said police arrested three men who worked for the company offering rope jumps and said officials initiated an investigation that could reportedly lead to murder charges.
What happens next
The City Hall of Limeira said it will sue the federal government, arguing that responsibility for inspection, maintenance and access control of the Skeleton Bridge lies exclusively with the federal government.
“SAO PAULO, Brazil -- A 21-year-old woman who died in dramatic fashion, when two rope jumping instructors threw her from a bridge without first harnessing her to security equipment, was buried Sunday in Brazil's Sao Paulo state”
Global News quoted Limeira City Hall saying, "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," and it added that the city council is expected to file a complaint over lack of security around the abandoned bridge.
In parallel, 20 Minutes said police confirmed the heavy equipment that should have been fixed to the young woman’s body was forgotten and remained tangled on the ground, and it reported that three men were arrested for "homicide with dol eventual."
20 Minutes also said the group was not authorized to perform jumps on this bridge and that CNN Brasil reported the men had initially fled before being located, while the investigation continues to determine the circumstances.
