'She was alive when I reached her': Nurse recounts final moments of student killed in Brazil's bungee jump mishap

A 21-year-old Brazilian university student who plunged 130 feet from an abandoned bridge during an unlicensed bungee jump was still alive and conscious when rescuers first reached her at the bottom of the ravine, an off-duty nurse told Brazilian TV network Domingo Espetacular.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died from her injuries a short while later.

The incident took place at the Ponte do Esqueleto (Skeleton Bridge), a decommissioned, 40-metre-high railway bridge near São Paulo that has become a popular but unauthorised hotspot for extreme sports.

According to local authorities and footage shared widely across social media, the adventure excursion went wrong due to operator negligence. The video captured three employees guiding Rodrigues de Freitas to the edge of the platform and releasing her into the void. While she was outfitted in a full chest harness, the crew had completely failed to attach the primary bungee cord to the bridge's anchors.

More from World

She free-fell the entire 130 feet without any deceleration, crashing directly into the dense, muddy terrain beneath the structure.

Note: The following footage may be distressing to some viewers. Discretion is advised.

'Nobody dies on my shift'

Rayza Dias, an off-duty nurse who happened to be visiting the bridge as a tourist, witnessed the fall and immediately rushed into action.

Dias described scrambling down a treacherous, nearly vertical slope to reach the base of the ravine. With only a single guide rope available, she scraped her hands and covered herself in mud to reach the student.

"I kept going down, down... and she was alive when I reached her," Dias told Domingo Espetacular. "I even talked to her. I have a habit of joking and saying, 'Nobody dies on my shift.' And I told her, 'Duda, nobody dies on my shift'—even though I wasn't technically on a shift there."

Despite Dias' immediate first-aid efforts and the subsequent arrival of a military police helicopter and paramedics, the 21-year-old succumbed to internal trauma shortly after the medical teams arrived.

The mishap has led to a criminal crackdown by São Paulo state authorities, who confirmed the excursion company was operating completely illegally without municipal permits or safety credentials. Two of the primary jump operators attempted to flee the scene, buy were hunted down and intercepted by a military police helicopter vectoring ground units.

Three men, aged 27, 32, and 42, remain in police custody on suspicion of homicide involving recklessness.