One of the instructors who threw Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas (21) into the ravine without a rope posted a gruesome video online four years ago. Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff (32) swung a body bag from the bridge, allegedly with a body inside. Then he packaged it as a joke. In the meantime, the bitter reality has caught up with him.
Journalist at HLN
Source: O Globo
Instructor who threw Maria off bridge previously posted shocking ‘body bag’ stunt
Maria Eduarda attempted a so-called ‘rope jump’ last Saturday in the Brazilian city of Limeira (São Paulo). The idea is that she would perform a gigantic, horizontal pendulum movement during her fall. Below you can see what should have actually happened.
Two instructors lifted Maria Eduarda over their shoulders, but no one noticed that the thick main safety cable was still lying unused on the ground. So when the young lady was launched, she simply disappeared into the depths.
The images that Egoroff posted online in September 2022 now have an extra sour aftertaste. He then performed the procedure, but with a filled body bag. “Just dumping a body,” he wrote ‘just for fun’.
Also children
In the meantime, it has become apparent that the organization was anything but strict with the safety regulations. Entre Cordas did not have permission to continue the activity on the so-called Skeleton Bridge. Yet children also performed the daring jump. Egoroff took them into his arms.
The instructor is now accused of manslaughter with conditional intent, together with his colleagues Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves (27) and Maicon Fernandes Cintra (42). This means that they did not intend to kill her, but consciously took a big risk.
“Hole in my memory”
During his interrogation, Egoroff stated that he cannot remember exactly what happened. “I went first, but then there is a gap in my memory. The responsibility for the rope lies alternately with me and Cintra,” he said.
Cintra made a similar statement. “The three of us always do the job. I don’t know how I didn’t see that rope.” Gonçalves emphasized that his job was only to lift the jumper up.
Lost GoPro camera
An important question that remains: where has gone the GoPro camera that Maria Eduarda wore around her wrist to film the jump? A witness saw one of the employees quickly descend towards her. However, it was not the intention to try to save her life.
“Only the camera interested him. Was he concerned about the value of that thing or did he want to conceal evidence? I don’t know,” said educationalist Rafael Goulart.
“Predecessor got scared”
A young lady who was just before Maria Eduarda’s turn came through the eye of the needle. This is evident from the testimony of Eduardo, a team member who was responsible for the basic harness. “She got scared and gave up her seat,” he noted.
Then Eduardo took care of Maria Eduarda. “I had my back to her when she jumped. I heard screaming, but that happens often. Immediately afterwards the seriousness of the situation dawned on me.”
Access to the Skeleton Bridge is now hermetically sealed. According to Mayor Murilo Félix, demolishing the structure is “the only solution”.