Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas: Mum Valdenia Rodrigues pays tribute to daughter killed in bungee accident
Tributes have been paid to Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, who plunged 40 metres to her death in Brazil during a horrific bungee jumping accident.
WARNING: Disturbing footage
The heartbroken mother of the woman killed in a horrific bungee jumping tragedy in Brazil has broken her silence.
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas died after she was hurled from Ponte do Esqueleto, or “Skeleton Bridge”, in Limeria, São Paulo State without being attached a safety rope.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Shocking footage of the incident, which has since gone viral, shows the 21-year-old being carried to the edge of the bridge by instructors before being thrown into the air.
Witnesses can be heard screaming that the safety rope had not been attached moments before she was tossed from the bridge and plunged 40 metres to her death..
“The rope, people, the rope!”, voices in the background said.
Hours after Ms de Freitas was farewelled at a funeral, her mother Valdenia Rodrigues posted a tribute to her “princess” on Instagram.
“That damned rope took you away from me forever,” she wrote, according to The Sun.
“My beloved daughter, you are gone and all that remains here is pain and longing.
“I will love you forever.”
It was followed by another post where Ms Rodrigues described the pain caused by her daughter’s tragic death.
“My beloved daughter, today alone I wanted to hug you more than a thousand times,” she wrote.
“How much your departure hurts me. I love you eternally, my princess. And thank you so much for being a part of my life for these 21 years.
“What an honor it was to hear you call me mom. God, thank you for this privilege.”
Ms Rodrigues was not the only one to pay tribute to the late 21-year-old.
A friend who witnessed the horror fall also posted on social media, saying he “can’t believe” what happened, as reported by The Sun.
“I think it’s a nightmare and I’m going to wake up,” he wrote.
“You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I love you, girl, I don’t know if I can handle all this.
“I’ll never forget you.”
These tributes come a day after it was revealed that Ms de Freitas did not immediately die after the fall.
Before her death, Ms de Freitas was living in Jandira in Greater São Paulo and held a degree in Physical Education and Sports Management.
Her former professor, Valdinei Barbosatold, local outlet G1 that she had a bright future ahead in the sports education field.
“She always said, ‘Professor, when I leave here I’m going to be a Physical Education teacher.’ And I always encouraged her, because she had the profile for it,” he said.
Since the horrifying incident, authorities have arrested three men who are reportedly under investigation while police continue examining if serious safety breaches contributed to the tragedy.
Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, are now facing charges of homicide with implied malice, G1 reports.
It is further alleged the three instructors changed their clothes and fled the scene but were arrested a short time later at the Ponte do Esqueleto trail.
Police officer Andréa Dantas said the two men in charge of preparing Ms de Freitas for the jump stated that they did not remember what happened moments before the fall.
“They can’t remember what the mistake was there, who should have put the rope in place, if there was no supervision. They can’t remember,” outlet Cidade On reported.
