An off-duty nurse who was waiting in line behind 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas has shared new details about the moments after the young woman fell from a bridge during an unlicensed rope-jumping activity in Brazil.
Maria Eduarda died after falling around 130 feet from the Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, near São Paulo. Authorities say the main safety rope had not been attached to her harness before she was released from the platform.
The nurse, Rayza Gabrieli Dias Delfino, 26, told police she ran down from the bridge immediately after the incident. She said she tried to reach Maria Eduarda as quickly as possible to provide emergency aid.
According to her statement, Maria Eduarda still showed faint signs of life when she arrived. Delfino said she began first aid while waiting for paramedics to reach the scene.
The nurse explained that the victim had been fitted with a waist harness, but the main safety rope had not been connected. That missing connection has become one of the central details in the investigation.
Delfino said she had been next in line for the jump and had even filmed Maria Eduarda shortly before the incident. She said she thought she might later share the video with the victim’s family, not knowing what was about to happen.
She also told investigators that she was focused on preparing for her own jump and did not fully watch how Maria Eduarda’s safety setup was handled. Moments later, witnesses began shouting after realizing the rope had not been secured.
Another witness, educator Rafael Goulart, told local media that he saw a worker remove a GoPro-style camera from Maria Eduarda before authorities arrived. That claim has added a new layer of concern about whether evidence may have been disturbed.
Police later confirmed that the camera Maria Eduarda used to record the jump has not been recovered. Investigators are now looking into what happened to the device and whether it could contain important footage from before the fall.
Three instructors have been charged in connection with the incident. They have been identified as Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra.
Prosecutors say the group was allegedly operating an unlicensed jumping activity and failed to follow basic safety procedures. Authorities are focusing on why the rope was not attached and why no final safety check stopped the jump.
Investigators also reported that some workers left the scene after the incident and were later found in a nearby wooded area following a helicopter search. The suspects have denied claims that they changed clothes or tried to flee.
During questioning, the instructors reportedly said they could not remember who was responsible for attaching the rope. One of them told authorities that equipment checks were usually shared among the group, leaving questions about who had final responsibility.
A judge ordered the three instructors to remain in preventive detention, citing the seriousness of the allegations, the risk of flight, and concerns about possible obstruction of justice. The court also pointed to the commercial nature of the activity and the failure to follow proper safety protocols.
Maria Eduarda, who had a background in physical education and sports management, had posted excitedly about the jump shortly before the tragedy. Now, as her family mourns and police search for the missing camera, the case continues to raise painful questions about negligence, accountability, and how one missed safety step led to an irreversible loss.
