Woman’s joke before bungee leap becomes chillingly prophetic

Lilit

One lady’s near-death experience during a bungee jump transformed into a terrifying encounter with fate, turning what started as a harmless prank into a nightmare. It proves that anything is achievable, especially when you least anticipate it.

Erin Langworthy, 22, of Australia, was on a trip to the famed Victoria Falls — a natural marvel straddling the Zambia-Zimbabwe border — when she chose to attempt a 360-foot bungee leap from a bridge across the Zambezi River.

Erin wrote a postcard to her mother before the jump, sarcastically saying, “I’m doing a bungee jump tomorrow, so I’ll say goodbye…only joking!” It was intended to be lighthearted, but her comments quickly took on a terrifying weight.

Erin was the 105th person to leap that day, and while she acknowledged feeling nervous, she never dreamed anything could go wrong. Her jump was recorded on video, as is traditional. The video shows her arms spread, descending beautifully, before the cable snaps. Erin struck the water hard as she fell into the Zambezi, a river known for its strong currents and crocodile population. The broken cable still linked her feet together.

“It felt amazing at first,” Erin subsequently told The Guardian. “I felt a jolt across my chest, as if I slowed down for a second…” I abruptly struck the water. That’s when I realized something had gone very wrong.

Erin was unconscious for a minute by the crash and awoke underwater, her lungs burning, bewildered, and attempting to figure out which way was up. “As I went deeper, the water got colder; I think that snapped me out of it,” she said.

As she descended the rapids, rocks and debris entangled the bungee cable, exacerbating the situation. She was able to dive beneath and release it many times with a tremendous deal of effort. Despite significant bruises and internal pain, she swam through the swiftly moving river and reached the Zimbabwean side, where a staff member assisted her to safety.

“I’d seen crocodiles that morning,” she eventually said, “but I couldn’t even think about it. I was coughing blood and straining to breathe.” My lungs were on fire!”

She attributes her instinctual raised arms during the fall with sparing her from a head-first collision and possible unconsciousness. Erin was sent to a local hospital in Victoria Falls, where she was placed on a ventilator, scanned, and treated for partly collapsed lungs and probable infections from the contaminated river water. “I had ingested a lot of water, so they gave me strong antibiotics,” she explained of her hospital stay. “But miraculously, there were no broken bones.”

Despite the hardship, Erin remained philosophical about the situation. “The bungee team apologized sincerely. I believe it’s a miracle I survived.”

Following the disaster, Zambia’s then-tourism minister, Given Lubinda, addressed public concerns, claiming the bungee jump had a solid safety record, with over 50,000 jumpers each year and only one known incident, according to The Lusaka Times.

In fact, Lubinda even offered to jump again, alongside Erin, to prove the safety of the operation. “It’s my responsibility to take the risk,” he said. “And to show the world that Zambia is still a destination worth visiting and bungee jumping in.”

As for Erin? Her mum insists she’ll never jump again. Erin, on the other hand, isn’t so sure.

Post Views: 201