Woman, 21, plunges to her death on bridge jump after staff ‘forgot to attach bungee cord’

Horrifying footage showed the moment that a woman plunged to her death from a bridge in Brazil.

The 21-year-old woman has been named as model Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, who had previously shared excited posts on social media about her planned bungee jump.

The jump was from a 40-meter-high bridge in Limeira, a city in the state of São Paulo.

Ms Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas can be seen standing with her arms out in a crucifix-type position, with three instructors lifting her into the air and carrying her to the edge, before launching her off the bridge.

As Ms Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was thrown off the bridge, horrified witnesses can then suddenly be heard shouting in Portuguese: 'the rope, people, the rope!'.

The bungee cord was not attached to her, and was lying on the bridge, unattached.

The bungee cord had not been attached (X)

Images had also been shared to her Instagram account just minutes before the fatal incident, with her showing her wristbands for the jump.

One of the posts saw her share a message which would be become harrowing following the fatal incident at the Ponte do Esqueleto.

In the post, she wrote: "Who was the crazy person who let me come jump off a bridge?"

Emergency services were called following the incident, which happened at the Skeleton Bridge Trail, but tragically there was nothing they could do, and Ms Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was pronounced dead at the scene.

Following the tragedy, her body was taken to the Legal Medical Institute, and local authorities have now launched an investigation, including whether criminal charges can be brought.

Local media reports have said that six people were arrested at the scene, and that two of those had tried to run away following the tragic incident.

She has been named as Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas (Instagram)

Police are also investigating whether negligence contributed to the horrifying incident.

An Instagram account for the company which operated the bungee jumps has since been deleted, according to reporting from CNN Brasil, while a WhatsApp group which distributed information about the jumps has also been deleted.

The tragedy has also opened up questions about public access to the bridge, and a row has now erupted between the city government in Limeira and Brazil's federal government.

Limeira's city hall has now said that it has plans to sue the federal government over allowing public access to the dangerous bridge, claiming that the bridge falls under federal responsibility and that it has been warning for several months about the risk posed by public access.