Bungee jump worker admits he ‘can’t remember’ why rope wasn’t attached to woman thrown to death as he’s quizzed by cops
THREE bungee coaches who allegedly launched a woman 130ft to her death said they could not explain the error when being quizzed by cops.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were arrested after 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, plunged to her death in Limeira, Brazil on Saturday.
Footage shared by police reveals the moment the trio told cops they could not explain their fatal error.
Luis and Maicon admitted they were responsible for setting up the ropes before the jump.
But neither could detail the division of tasks.
Luis, who said he earned around £26 per jump, told police that team members didn’t have set responsibilities during the jumps and equipment checks were carried out “jointly.”
Asked who was responsible for the final safety checks for Maria’s jump, he told police: “I can’t remember.”
Maicon reportedly gave cops the same answer.
Vitor said he was called to help the victim but could not explain how a camera that was in the young woman’s hand had disappeared.
But witness Rafael Goulart told EPTV: “The first scene I remember when I saw the girl on the ground was seeing one of the employees removing the GoPro camera from the neck strap of the body that was already on the ground, either worried about the equipment or wanting to hide evidence.”
The three men have been charged with homicide with implied malice.
Their lawyer, Rafael Gomes dos Santos, said he vehemently disagrees with the classification of the crime as intentional.
In a statement Rafael said the accused never intended or assumed the risk of causing death.
On the day of Maria’s death he said the three clients were passionate about the sport and had never had any problems.
Instead he described the case as a “sad fatality”.
It comes after horrifying video showed the moment Maria was held in the air by workers and thrown from the edge of Skeleton bridge.
The aspiring teacher, from nearby Jandira, fell more than 131ft to the ground as horrified staff watched on. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
She did not realise a safety rope had not been attached to her harness before the fall.
Seconds after the workers released her to drop into the void, voices can be heard in the background of the video shouting: “the rope, people, the rope”.
The workers then allegedly changed their clothes and police said at least two fled the area.
But they were arrested soon afterwards at the Ponte do Esqueleto trail after a chopper tracked them down.
Maria’s mum broke her silence with an emotional tribute, saying she was only left with “pain” after the horror accident.
Valdenia Rodrigues described the rope the staff allegedly forgot to attach as “damned and cursed”.
