Bungee jumping is often seen as the ultimate rush – but for one woman, what should have been a thrilling freefall turned into life-threatening plunge when her bungee cord snapped.
Erin Langworthy, an Australian tourist in her early twenties, had been travelling through Zambia in 2012 when she decided to take on a bungee jump off a bridge overlooking the Zambezi River.
In a terrifying turn of events, the backpacker’s bungee cord failed to recoil during the leap, sending her hurtling 360 feet into the fast-moving, crocodile-infested river.
In footage shared on social media, Langworthy can be seen dropping into the water after the cord snapped.
She then appeared to struggle to stay afloat as the river’s current carried her downstream.
Despite her injuries, including severe bruising and internal damage, Langworthy luckily survived the fall – as well as narrowly avoiding the jaws of predators lurking in the water.
Speaking about her injuries in a Cover-More Youtube video, Langworthy recalled: ‘I was black and blue all over, my lungs were full of blood and water.’
After being rescued by a staff member from the bungee company, Langworthy was rushed to a hospital in nearby Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
She was treated for her injuries, which included partially collapsed lungs and concerns about the dirty water she had swallowed. Thankfully, X-rays confirmed there were no broken bones.
Langworthy later told the Guardian: ‘I started coughing up blood and began to worry about internal injuries. I just felt exhausted and struggled to process what had happened.”
She revealed how, despite jumping from the river at 5.30pm, she finally arrived at the hospital at 11pm, where she was placed on a ventilator and given antibiotics due to the risk of infection from ingested water.
The bungee company later visited her in the hospital to apologise for the incident, adding that they were ‘astounded’ she had survived.
Langworthy also mentioned that she had jokingly sent a postcard to her mother the day before the jump, in which she wrote: ‘I’m doing a bungee jump tomorrow, so I’ll say goodbye… only joking!’
The postcard has since earned a prized spot on the family’s fridge, but Langworthy insisted her mother is ‘adamant’ that her beloved daughter won’t be thrill-seeking any time soon.
It comes after a woman plunged a staggering 141 feet in an extreme new style of bungee jumping where adrenaline junkies spiral out of the sky – with no rope.
Nervously getting into the correct harness position, the woman is captured in a video pushed just outside of the platform with her legs dangling mid-air.
Asking the thrill seeker whether she wanted a countdown or a surprise drop, the woman opted for the latter.
Suddenly the attendant pulls the rope, sending her plummeting a staggering 141 feet, whilst letting out a blood curdling scream on her descent.
After falling through the heavens, the woman’s fall is safely broken by a large green net.