‘She Was Still Alive’

When nurse Rayza Dias reached Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas at the base of the bridge, she was still breathing.

Still conscious.

Dias talked to the 21-year-old as she lay on the ground 130 feet below the structure known locally as Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, São Paulo state — telling her she was going to be okay.

She was not going to be okay.

Maria had just plummeted from an abandoned bridge during what she believed was a bungee jumping excursion — without a cord attached.

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What the Video Shows

Footage circulating online appears to show bungee jump operators escorting Maria to the edge of the bridge before she went over the side.

Moments after she fell, witnesses at the scene reportedly realized something was catastrophically wrong.

There was no rope. There had never been a rope.

Maria fell the full 130 feet — and survived the impact, if only for a matter of minutes.

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Her Last Post

In the hours before the jump, Maria had been documenting the experience on Instagram with the excitement of a 21-year-old on an adventure.

Her final story captured the bridge in the background, paired with a caption that now reads like something no one should ever have to look back on.

“Who was the crazy person who let me jump off a bridge???”

She posted it moments before she died.

Rope jumping instructors threw the 21-year-old woman from a bridge in Brazil without harnessing her to security equipment, leading to her death: http://www.king5.com/article/news/nation-world/brazil-bridge-bungee-jumping- accident/507-6c94f232-0cd6-449e ...

Six Arrested

The incident has since triggered a criminal investigation across Brazil.

Six people have been arrested in connection with the fatal accident, according to Brazilian media, with several facing allegations tied to the organization and operation of the jump.

Authorities are investigating how a bungee jumping operation was permitted to run on an abandoned bridge — and how Maria went over the edge without a cord secured.

Those questions do not yet have answers.

Brazilian woman dies after being thrown off 'Skeleton Bridge' in bungee jump tragedy

What is known is that an off-duty nurse was the first person to reach her. That she spoke to Maria in those final minutes. That she tried to tell her everything was going to be alright.

And that a 21-year-old who posted a laughing caption about jumping off a bridge never came home.

Source: Compiled from various sources