‘We blacked out’: Instructors charged after student’s death in fatal Brazil bridge rope jump

Three men have been charged with homicide over the death of a 21-year-old student who was launched off a 40m bridge without a safety cord during a rope-jumping stunt in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The three purported rope-jumping instructors – Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32; Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27; and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42 – were arrested on June 14 after Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was thrown off the abandoned Ponte do Esqueleto, or Skeleton Bridge, without a safety cord attached.

They were placed in pretrial detention at a court hearing on June 14.

Two of the three suspects told investigators they “blacked out” and did not remember attaching her safety rope.

“They said they can’t remember where and when the fault occurred,” investigator Andrea Dantas Levy told Brazil’s O Globo newspaper.

“They can’t remember who was supposed to attach the rope, and didn’t. The third, who held (her) legs, said he was only called in to help with the throw,” Levy added.

Online sleuths, meanwhile, have unearthed Rodrigues de Freitas’ final Instagram posts, which have since taken on a haunting significance.

“Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge?” she wrote in one post, according to Globo.

Another image showed the dizzying drop below from the bridge. A third featured wristbands marked “Takeoff authorised”.

One more showed a roadside warning sign that read simply: “Danger”.

Hours later, she was dead.

The case has drawn national attention after a video of the incident circulated widely online.

The footage appears to show Rodrigues de Freitas being lifted by three men and carried towards the edge of the bridge. A rope can be seen lying on the platform behind them.

Moments later, she falls.

A bystander recording the jump immediately realises something is wrong.

“Guys, the rope!” the witness can be heard shouting.

Rayza Dias, an off-duty nurse who was at the scene, said she clambered down the slope and found Rodrigues de Freitas lying at the crash site, still alive.

“I even talked to her. I have a habit of joking and saying, ‘Nobody dies on my shift’, and I told her, ‘Duda (Eduarda), nobody dies on my shift’,” said Dias.

The police said six people were initially detained for questioning. Three were later released after investigators determined they were just working at a nearby tent distributing wristbands to customers.

The three defendants, who police said were caught attempting to flee after the incident, face prison sentences of between six and 30 years if convicted.

The investigation has also raised questions about the operators themselves.

Police said the men were not affiliated with a licensed company and lacked authorisation to conduct rope-jumping activities at the bridge.

The names displayed on their shirts belonged to informal groups of enthusiasts rather than registered commercial operators, investigators said.

The group reportedly began organising jumps at various locations earlier in 2026.

Safety experts say professional rope-jumping operators typically require multiple inspections before a participant is cleared to jump, including independent verification that ropes, harnesses and anchors have been properly secured.

Investigators say no such final check appears to have occurred.

Compounding the mystery is the disappearance of a 360-degree camera Rodrigues de Freitas was carrying when she jumped.

The camera, which participants could rent for an additional fee, has not been recovered, according to Brazilian media reports.

The authorities have not said whether it may have captured footage of the final moments before the jump.

Rodrigues de Freitas, who studied physical education and sports management, frequently posted about outdoor adventures and nature. Friends described her as energetic and adventurous.

Her funeral was held over the weekend in Jandira, west of Sao Paulo.