Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, a 21-year-old woman, posted a joking message on Instagram just moments before she was thrown off a bridge in Brazil without a bungee cord attached and plunged about 40 meters to her death, the New York Post reported. The shocking incident happened on Saturday (June 13) at Ponte do Esqueleto, also known as Skeleton Bridge, in Limeira, Sao Paulo.
Freitas, a recent graduate in physical education and sports management, had reportedly gone to the abandoned railway bridge with her fiance for a bungee jump, an activity run by a local adventure company. According to Brazilian newspaper O Globo, the company allegedly failed to attach a cord to her harness. She was pronounced dead at the scene, the outlet added.
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Video from the scene shows staff members carrying Freitas to the edge and throwing her over. She was only wearing a helmet. Seconds later, onlookers realise the safety cord was still lying on the ground. Shouts of “Guys, the rope!” can be heard the moment she fell.
According to the news outlet, she shared photos and videos from the site on her Instagram Stories shortly before the jump. In one post showing the bridge and her wristbands, she wrote: “Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?” It appeared to be written as nervous humour. The People Magazine reported that De Freitas’s social media profile was later taken down.
Screenshots of De Freitas’ Instagram Stories were widely shared on social media.
Photo Credit: Instagram/@pridebrazil1
Her fiance, who witnessed the fall, reportedly fell ill and was taken to a hospital. Police arrested six people connected to the event, including three at the scene.
Inacreditável – Mulher morre após ser lançada sem cordas em ‘bungee jump’ no interior de SP.
Funcionários se esqueceram de atar equipamento; seis pessoas foram presas.
pic.twitter.com/3hIjLzBTmr— Fiscal do Fim dos Tempos (@fiscaldofim) June 13, 2026
Authorities are investigating whether the operator had proper permits and followed safety protocols.
“It was a team there that wasn’t regulated; they didn’t even have authorisation to be there,” Delegate Andrea Dantas Levy reportedly told news outlet G1. “They ended up organising this event, and this fatality happened today, in my perception, due to a failure to verify and supervise the placement of the rope on the victim’s jump.”
