Brazil Bungee Jump Tragedy: Three Instructors Charged With Homicide

The bungee jump operators who tossed a woman over a bridge without securing her rope have been arrested in Brazil … and they’re staring down homicide charges.

Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Goncalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, were taken into police custody Saturday after Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas took her fatal plunge from the infamous Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, Brazil, NBC News reports.

The three suspects reportedly tried to flee after the deadly incident, but they didn’t get far before they were captured.

Now, the trio is in big trouble with police and prosecutors. Under Brazilian law, the homicide charge applies to cases where someone didn’t intentionally kill someone, but still engaged in an act that carried a risk of death.

Maria died after plunging about 130 feet during a rope-jumping excursion in which instructors usually throw participants over the side of the bridge with a rope attached to them. But, in Maria’s case, there was no cord attached to her body, and she died.

NBC said the suspects acknowledged that Maria was not connected to safety ropes before the jump, and they couldn’t remember which one of them was responsible for checking her equipment before hurling her over the side of the bridge.

Videos posted online show the moments leading up to the tragedy, with Maria donning a helmet as staff members carry her to the edge of the bridge before tossing her over.