Brazil bungee jump death sparks arrests and safety probe

A 21-year-old woman died after being launched from an abandoned bridge in full view of witnesses and a camera, after authorities say the safety rope was not attached. The case has quickly become a test of oversight in Brazil’s adventure-tourism industry, with arrests, homicide allegations and a dispute over who was supposed to police the site.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died on Saturday, June 13, 2026, after falling about 40 metres, roughly 130 feet, from Ponte do Esqueleto, known as Skeleton Bridge, in Limeira, São Paulo state. Videos circulating online show two men launching her off the bridge while onlookers realized there was no safety mechanism attached. Her fiancé was present and filming when she fell, witnesses said.

The bridge, an abandoned railway span deactivated for vehicle traffic for about 30 years, has long drawn people seeking high-risk jumps. That history is now at the center of scrutiny. Local coverage says the activity was reportedly organized by a private company, and authorities have said the group may have been operating illegally and without authorization. The fatal jump has raised sharp questions about whether basic protocols, including harness checks and line attachment, were ignored before she was sent off the span.

Brazilian police said six people were taken in for questioning after the death. Later reports said three men were arrested and charged in connection with the case, including on suspicion of homicide. Some accounts described the case as possible homicide under Brazilian law, including a dolus eventualis theory, a legal standard that can apply when someone proceeds despite foreseeing a deadly outcome.

The focus has also widened beyond the individuals directly involved in the jump. The City of Limeira said it plans to seek accountability from the federal government, arguing that the bridge is a federal structure and that the site lacked adequate monitoring and protective measures. Murilo Félix, the city’s mayor, has linked the case to the absence of proper oversight at a place known informally for adventure activities but never treated as a regulated public-safety venue.

The death has renewed debate over how rope-jump operators are vetted, who inspects improvised thrill sites, and what enforcement exists when a popular but hazardous attraction operates outside formal authorization. In Limeira, the failure was not abstract. A safety rope that should have been in place was missing, and the lapse played out in public, with fatal consequences.