Fabio Ezequiel de Moraes, a 36-year-old father, died in a bungee jumping accident in São Paulo, Brazil, in 2016 after the bungee team reportedly misjudged the cord length needed for the 43-metre descent. His wife, brother, and six-year-old son witnessed the tragedy.
Fatal Miscalculation
Moraes let out a joyful scream as he launched himself from a ledge, plunging headfirst into the valley below. However, the bungee team had miscalculated the rope length, causing him to strike the ground headfirst. He was rushed to hospital in Mairinique but later died from his head injuries.
Last-Minute Decision
According to Brazilian publication Diario, Moraes had originally planned to jump with his young son but decided to go alone at the last moment. Authorities launched an investigation and seized the bungee equipment used by the team.
Similar Incidents
Just a month before Moraes' death, the owner of a bungee jump attraction in South Korea was charged with negligence after a 29-year-old woman fell 43 metres into water when her cord snapped mid-air. She sustained serious head and neck injuries but survived.
In 2000, Matthew Coleman, 22, died while bungee jumping in the Swiss Alps after staff at Adventure World attached an incorrect length cord. The cord was designed for jumps of about 600 feet, but Coleman's drop was closer to 330 feet. The ropes were colour-coded—red for longer jumps, green for shorter ones—but the bungee jump master attached the red cable to Coleman. Adventure World founder Georg Hoedle said, "If you use the red, you are reminded that you have to be more cautious. There is no explanation for it. They just made the mistake."
Coleman's uncle, David Denu, called for a ban on the sport: "There's nobody who can say it's safe. It makes me sick to my stomach that anyplace would think it's safe."
