Entre Cordas instructors charged after woman thrown from bridge without rope
21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was launched 130 feet to her death.
A 21-year-old Brazilian woman, Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, died after two rope jumping instructors from the company Entre Cordas threw her from the 40-metre (130-foot) Ponte do Esqueleto bridge without first attaching a safety rope. The incident occurred on Saturday in Limeira, São Paulo state. Footage shows the men in white helmets launching Freitas off the bridge while an onlooker screamed for them to attach the cord. The instructors themselves were wearing harnesses attached to ropes.
Freitas, who aspired to become a physical education teacher, had posted a photo of the location on Instagram shortly before the jump, captioning it, "Who was the crazy person who let me come jump off a bridge???" Previous videos of the company's jumps show participants with a thick safety cord around their waists. Three men working for Entre Cordas have been arrested and face possible murder charges. Freitas was buried on Sunday.
- Freitas was thrown from a 40-metre bridge without any safety rope attached.
- The instructors were wearing harnesses and ropes at the time of the incident.
- Three men from Entre Cordas have been arrested on possible murder charges.
Why It Matters
This tragedy highlights critical failures in extreme sports safety protocols and instructor accountability.