A 59-year-old Brazilian woman died after plunging nearly 100 feet from a cliff during a hiking trip to the Caves of Spar in Brazil on Sunday. The incident occurred just a day after a 21-year-old bungee jumper was killed after reportedly being pushed off the Ponte do Esqueleto bridge in Limeira, São Paulo, without a safety rope.
Hiker's Fatal Fall
The hiker, identified as Rosemary Suzart Garcia, reportedly lost her balance while lifting her leg to apply insect repellent, according to local media. Garcia had stepped onto a short trail to get a better view from an overlook when she slipped and fell from the cliff.
According to Brazilian outlet Globo, Garcia went down a short path to view an overlook. While looking down, she lifted her leg to apply bug spray and lost her balance. Witness Giovani Maximino told Globo, “It’s a height of approximately [100 feet]. She was just finishing applying insect repellent. It was very fast.”
Maximino said the guide tried to save her and was dragged to the edge, almost falling off the cliff. However, he could only hold onto a “root in the area.” Maximino added, “I only managed to locate the children, who live in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, at almost two in the morning to give them the news. Until then, we had no contact with any family member.” Firefighters later recovered Garcia’s lifeless body at the scene.
Bungee Jumping Tragedy
On Saturday, a similar tragic incident unfolded when two crew members threw Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas from a 40-metre rope-jumping bridge platform in Brazil’s São Paulo state without attaching her safety rope, as reported by the news agency AP. Witnesses told authorities that while she was thrown off the bridge, the rope was sitting unused on the bridge and not attached to her. She had recently graduated in physical education and sports management and lived in Greater São Paulo.
Andrea Levy, a Brazilian police investigator, told journalists that the three jumping instructors involved in the incident agreed not to attach safety equipment to her before throwing her off the edge. Levy said the three instructors have been arrested and could face manslaughter charges. “They do not remember whether they forgot to attach (the ropes), or who was supposed to do it, or who failed to check. But the fact is, the ropes were not attached to her,” Levy said. De Freitas was buried on Sunday.
Both incidents remain under investigation.
