A woman has died in Brazil after falling about 100 feet during a cave-rappelling outing, just days after another adventure sports fatality in the country involving a bungled bungee jump.
Authorities said the latest incident happened on June 14 at the Spar Cave zip-line park in Marica, in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where a 59-year-old woman fell from a cliff area.
The victim, Rosemary Suzart Garcia, was part of a group of roughly 15 people and had been heading along a short but steep trail toward a rappelling point inside the cave, a site well known for adventure tourism.
Witnesses told investigators that Garcia was wearing full safety equipment, including a helmet, gloves and other protective gear, as she made her way along the path.
Police were told that the fall happened while Garcia was applying insect repellent as she stood on the incline.
According to those accounts, she lost her footing after lifting one leg, slipped, and plunged over the steep drop.
The woman is said to have been thrown towards the precipice before falling from an estimated height of around 98ft.
A guide who was close to Garcia attempted to grab her but was unable to prevent the fall due to the steep terrain.
Rosemary Suzart Garcia, 59, fell from a cliff at a zip-line park at the Spar Cave, in Marica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 14
Garcia was taking part in a group activity of around 15 people when she followed a short, steep trail towards a rappelling point inside the cave – a famous complex for adventure sports
He later told investigators he tried to reach her but managed only to hold onto a root to avoid falling himself.
Another witness said the instructor came close to being pulled down during the attempt to intervene.
Emergency services were called at 10.44am, but Garcia was already dead when firefighters arrived at the scene.
The Body of Firefighters confirmed they found the body at the base of the rocky area and carried out recovery procedures.
Garcia was later taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Sao Goncalo for formal identification and post-mortem procedures.
The Civil Police said the case has been registered and a forensic examination was carried out at the site.
The Spar Caves were formed from an old mining site that was shut down around half a century ago.
The area once saw the extraction of minerals including feldspar and mica before operations were abandoned.
Today, the site has become a popular tourist attraction, known for its dramatic rock formations, a natural lake and a cave roughly 130ft high used for rappelling.
Local authorities confirmed the area is privately owned and lies within the boundaries of the Marica Municipal Wildlife Refuge.
Officials said responsibility for authorisation and safety oversight of rappelling activities at the site does not fall under the municipality due to its private status.
Horrific footage circulating on social media shows the moment Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, 21, was thrown to her death from Skeleton Bridge in Sao Paolo on Saturday
The tragedy comes just a few days after 21-year-old Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, was thrown to her death without a safety rope by three instructors from the Skeleton Bridge in Limeira, São Paulo, on Saturday.
Two of the instructors then tried to flee the scene when they realised their grave mistake, before they were tracked down by a military helicopter and arrested in a nearby wooded area, local media reports.
The São Paulo Public Security Secretariat confirmed that six people were taken in for questioning, before three were arrested for homicide with eventual intent.
The trio were named as Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, and Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27.
On Saturday, Maria, an aspiring physical education teacher, had asked to be launched 130ft from the abandoned bridge ‘aeroplane style’, with three instructors hoisting her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms.
Luis Felipe, one of the instructors in the viral video, who says he earned just £26.50 per jump, told police after his arrest that team members didn’t have set responsibilities during the jumps and equipment checks were carried out ‘jointly.’
Quizzed on who was responsible for the final safety checks for Maria Eduarda’s jump, he told police: ‘I can’t remember.’ Maicon Fernandes Cintra reportedly gave cops the same answer.
According to reports, Egoroff and Cintra held Freitas’s body for the throw, and Goncalves held her feet.
One of the instructors, Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, was seen in a previous bungee jump preparing to leap off the abandoned bridge with a child in his arms
Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42, and two more of his colleagues are facing charges of homicide with eventual intent
The charges could see the men jailed for between six and 30 years if convicted. Pictured: Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27,
Egoroff and Cintra appeared dazed in new mugshots when they were taken into custody, as their attorney said the men were confused over who was supposed to attach the bungee cord to Freitas.
The bungee instructors’ attorney told Brazilian news outlet Metropoles that after he spoke with the three men, none of them could tell him who was responsible for securing Freitas’ rope.
On Monday, a witness claimed that they saw one of the employees involved in Maria’s jump remove the action camera before she was thrown.
Rafael Goulard, who was waiting in line for his turn at the rope jump, told local news outlet EPTV: ‘The first scene I remember was seeing one of the employees removing the GoPro camera from the neck of the body that was already on the ground.
‘Was he worried about the equipment, about hiding evidence, or worried about its financial value?’
