Just a day after 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas lost her life in a botched rope-jumping stunt at Skeleton Bridge in São Paulo, a 59-year-old woman met a similar fate elsewhere in Brazil.
Rosemary Stuart Garcia plunged approximately 100 feet to her demise after losing her balance while applying insect repellent during a June 14 hiking trip at the Grutas do Spar caverns in Maricá.
Highlights
- 59-year-old Rosemary Stuart Garcia fatally plunged 100 feet in Brazil, one day after Maria's rope-jumping incident.
- A witness said Rosemary fell “very fast,” making it impossible for her guide to save her.
- Local authorities have taken contrasting positions on responsibility for the two incidents.
An eyewitness and fellow hiker in her group of 15 recalled the horrifying moments, saying Rosemary fell “very fast.”
A hiking excursion turned fatal for a Brazilian woman who fell nearly 100 feet at a former mining site in Maricá
Image credits: Facebook/Rosemary Suzart Garcia
The Spar Caves originated from a mining site where minerals like feldspar and mica were extracted before the operation was shut down around 50 years ago.
Rosemary ventured onto a path near an overlook at the location to stop and apply bug spray.
According to reports, when she lifted one leg, her supporting foot slipped, causing her to plunge over the edge.
Image credits: Facebook/Rosemary Suzart Garcia
Giovani Maximino, a hiker in Rosemary's group, told authorities that their guide lunged to grab her arm but was unable to save her.
In the process, he nearly became a second victim himself.
"The guide tried to hold her and almost fell too," Giovani said.
In his own account to police, the guide said he managed to break his fall by grabbing a vegetation root in the area.
Image credits: Maricá Info
Rosemary's body was retrieved by the fire department, which said it received a call to the site at 10:44 a.m.
The victim was wearing safety gear, including gloves, a helmet, and other personal protective equipment.
Giovani later revealed that Rosemary was a resident of Cordovil, a neighborhood in northern Rio de Janeiro.
He said he managed to locate her children and deliver the tragic news at around 2 a.m. on Monday.
Civil police said Rosemary's case remains under investigation and that a forensic examination of the scene has been conducted.
A statement from Maricá City Hall noted that Rosemary's demise did not involve any government liability, unlike Maria's case
Image credits: rapeladventurerj
The Maricá Municipality explained that the area where Rosemary’s demise occurred is privately owned and, therefore, "the city hall is not responsible for authorizing, inspecting, or prohibiting rappelling activities carried out on the site."
Limeira City Hall, where Maria's Skeleton Bridge accident unfolded, on the other hand, has asserted that the federal government is responsible for regulating the site and said it intends to pursue legal action.
Image credits: Thabzo_Siba
Image credits: Instinto Aventureiro
“It is necessary to establish who is responsible for the lack of access control to a federal area, which, for years, has posed known risks and is still without the necessary safety measures,” Limeira Mayor Murilo Félix said.
“We have been calling for action for months to ensure that the federal government assumes its responsibility. Unfortunately, its failure to act has just resulted in yet another tragedy in Limeira,” he added.
Image credits: Instinto Aventureiro
Maria fell approximately 130 feet after two bungee-jumping instructors failed to secure her to a safety harness before launching her.
Brazil's Military Police told local media that the men fled the scene shortly after realizing their mistake.
They were later located in a nearby wooded area by helicopter and taken to the São Paulo Public Security Secretariat for questioning.
Image credits: Facebook/Rosemary Suzart Garcia
Four additional individuals were detained.
Authorities ultimately charged three of the six suspects with homicide with implied malice, which is applied when a person does not intend to cause fatal harm but acts with such recklessness that an unfortunate outcome becomes foreseeable.
The trio has been identified as Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42; Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32; and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27.
They reportedly claimed there was a "blackout" during the activity’s setup, adding that they "can't remember" where or when the rope failed to be attached, or who was responsible for securing Maria.
A nurse who was present at Skeleton Bridge confirmed that Maria did not lose her life immediately after her fall
Image credits: dudz.rodrigueess
Rayza Dias rushed to assist Maria as soon as she and other onlookers realized she had been launched without being secured.
After reaching her following a difficult descent that left her palms scraped, Dias said she found Maria with signs of life, which included labored breathing and incoherent speech.
Dias said she attempted to keep Maria conscious by engaging her in conversation.
Image credits: EPTV
"I have a habit of joking and saying, 'Nobody d*es on my shift,'" Dias said.
According to her, she told Maria the same thing, even though she was not officially on duty at the time.
The nurse did not specify whether Maria passed away in her presence or later.
Before Maria's demise, 39-year-old Kelly Stefani de Oliveira Alves also lost her balance and suffered a fatal fall from Skeleton Bridge.
"No way I would do anything like this," a netizen said
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