Brazilian bungee jumper 'still alive' after plunging from bridge without a rope, nurse reveals

A bungee jumper was "still alive" after plunging from a bridge in Brazil without a rope, according to a nurse who attempted to save her life.

Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, died from multiple catastrophic injuries as she was filmed being thrown off an abandoned bridge near Sao Paolo on Saturday.

Video of her horrific death quickly went viral on social media, with commenters confounded as to how it had happened.

In the footage, onlookers can be heard yelling warnings about Ms Rodrigues de Freitas not being attached to the safety rope - but these came too late.

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Off-duty nurse Rayza Dias was at the scene and scrambled to the scene of the incident, at the base of "Skeleton Bridge".

She told Brazilian TV network Domingo Espetacular: "I scraped my whole hand because there's a steep slope down there and only one rope for us to climb down."

She added that she was completely covered in mud as she descended down the slope to reach the tragic jumper.

Ms Rodrigues de Freitas, an aspiring PE teacher, fell 40 metres (130 feet).

Ms Dias said she was able to talk with Ms Rodrigues de Freitas when she reached her.

Emotionally, she said: "I have a habit of joking and saying: 'Nobody dies on my shift.'

"And I told her: 'Duda [Eduarda], nobody dies on my shift.'"

Three of the bungee jump operators were arrested and charged with homicide with eventual intent - a crime where someone does not have direct intention but assumes the risk of killing - on Sunday.

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Two of the men fled the scene and military helicopters were needed to track them down.

On Monday, police investigator Andrea Levy said the jumping instructors acknowledged Ms Rodrigues de Freitas had not been connected to safety ropes as she jumped.

"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," she said.

Three further suspects had been detained but were later released without charge.

The bridge has been abandoned for years, but maintenance for it falls under the responsibility of the Brazilian Government.

The City Hall of Limeira announced it would sue the Government to adequately manage the bridge.

In a statement, it said it "had been adopting administrative measures and demanding action from the federal agencies responsible for the area".

The death of Ms Rodrigues de Freitas made the continuation "of this omission unsustainable and unacceptable", it concluded.

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