An instructor involved in the rope-jumping activity that ended with the death of 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas has shared a new statement about the moment everything went wrong on Brazil’s Skeleton Bridge.
The tragedy happened in Limeira, São Paulo, where Maria Eduarda fell about 130 feet during an extreme sports activity after authorities say the main safety rope was not attached before she was released.
The instructor, identified only as Gustavo in reports, said he had helped fit equipment on Maria Eduarda before the jump. But he claimed he was not looking directly at the platform when she was launched.
According to Gustavo, he had turned away and was helping another participant at the time. He said he did not immediately understand that a fatal mistake had happened.
Instead, he said the first thing that caught his attention was the sound of people screaming. At first, he claimed he thought it was the usual reaction that happens during extreme jumps, when both the jumper and people watching often shout.
But within moments, he realized the screams were different. When he turned back toward the platform, the jump had already happened and people around him were reacting in panic.
Gustavo said a woman who identified herself as a nurse rushed to help Maria Eduarda and began giving emergency aid while others at the scene tried to assist.
He also said instructors normally check that all safety ropes are attached before a participant is lifted and released. However, he said he could not confirm whether that procedure had been properly followed in Maria Eduarda’s case.
The instructor said he was about four meters away from the launch area when the incident occurred. He also noted that Maria Eduarda became the first jump of that session after another participant reportedly got scared and backed out.
That detail has added another painful layer to the investigation. If the earlier participant had gone through with the jump, the fatal sequence may have unfolded differently, but instead Maria Eduarda was the one placed into position.
Gustavo described the normal process as one where the rope should be secured before the jumper is lifted by staff. Because multiple people are often involved in raising and launching a participant, he said coordination among instructors is essential.
Safety experts have since pointed to what they believe were serious failures in the way the jump was handled. One of the biggest concerns is whether a proper “double-check” system was used before Maria Eduarda was released.
Marco Antonio Junior, known as Jota and president of the Brazilian Rope Jump and Human Pendulum Association, said adventure activities require one instructor to attach equipment and another to confirm everything is secure. He said that basic safety step appears to have failed.
Experts have also questioned the “airplane” position reportedly used during the launch, where the participant is lifted and released by instructors rather than jumping independently. They say that method can increase risk if strict procedures are not followed.
Three instructors have been arrested on suspicion of homicide with possible intent as investigators examine the missing safety rope, the lack of proper checks, the unregistered nature of the operation, and a 360-degree camera Maria Eduarda reportedly paid to use but which has not yet been recovered. The instructor’s statement has now become one more part of a case still centered on one devastating question: how was a young woman launched from a bridge before anyone confirmed the rope was attached?
