Bungee Jumper's Cord Snaps In Freak Accident; Australian Erin Langworthy Survives Plunge

The Huffington Post Canada   Jacqueline Delange First Posted: 01/08/12 04:01 PM ET Updated: 01/09/12 07:34 AM ET

"I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived," a bungee jumper said after her cord snapped during a 111-metre nosedive into an African river.

Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old Australian, bungee jumped head-first from the Victoria Falls Bridge into the Zambezi River on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia on New Year's Eve, Australia's Channel 9 reports. Fellow tourists cheered Langworthy on when she jumped, but when the cord snapped in two, plunging Langworthy into the river, one exclaimed, "She's in the fucking water!"

Langworthy recalls the harrowing experience: "It went black straight away and I felt like I’d been slapped all over."

After she hurtled into the crocodile-infested water, her bungee cord, still attached to her feet, had gotten caught on debris.

"I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught into," she said.

Langworthy swam to Zimbabwe's side of the Zambezi, where she met rescuers. She spent a week in a South African hospital with a broken collar bone and bruising, but luckily escaped without any life-threatening injuries, the Telegraph reported.

The tourism company that organized the jump, Safari Par Excellence, calls the jump "111 metres of pure adrenalin."

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"I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived," a bungee jumper said after her cord snapped during a 111-metre nosedive into an African river. Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old Australian, bung...
"I think it's definitely a miracle that I survived," a bungee jumper said after her cord snapped during a 111-metre nosedive into an African river. Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old Australian, bung...
 
 
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05:48 PM on 01/25/2013
Bungee jumping is a very safe extreme sport. A J Hackett established safety standards for bungee jumping firms to follow, but I imagine these safety measures aren't followed well in places like Africa...

www.bungeefinder.com
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peoplepersons
Obama 2012
01:35 PM on 01/11/2012
One bungee cable. First sign of bad business. Frayed cable warning #2. Your in Africa #3. Ive seen jumps and most of them use up to 4 cables at once. This thing was tied to nylon rope and then one bungee cord. That is way to high of a drop for that little of a cord.
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thoreau101
10:30 AM on 01/11/2012
Putting oneself in a position where your life is literally hanging by a thread is inane.

These people should have their empty heads examined.
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kmilford
11:35 AM on 01/11/2012
Go back to your couch.
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Mushu Friend
01:15 PM on 01/11/2012
At least he has a better assurance of getting up off of that couch breathing. I could think of better ways of getting an adrenaline rush and a cardiac stimulant than voluntarily putting my life in danger.
01:29 PM on 01/11/2012
What a silly reply, it's either the couch or the bungee cord then? The notion that a bungee cord might break occurs to the only species that has evolved a frontal cortex, some people just ignore the info seeking the "thrill". The claim that such behavior is rational would be interesting to read if you could actually provide it.
08:27 AM on 01/11/2012
Oops!! Big time.
08:27 AM on 01/11/2012
As a human being i am glad that she survived,but as a form of excitement she should have paid with her life...sorry but that is real stupid, there is a lot of other ways to get exited and not getting heart in the process.....
01:30 PM on 01/11/2012
This might have been a darwin award contender.
08:16 AM on 01/11/2012
i'm happy to see you are ok.............
God Bless You
07:38 AM on 01/11/2012
"SInce crocodiles often rest with only their nostrils and eyes showing above the water's surface, they prefer still water or water that flows slowly. Fast flowing water and water with waves can flood a crocodile's nostrils. That makes breathing difficult." [Crocodiles - by S.M. Walker]. The water under bridge is too close to the falls to be 'crocodile-infested'. Do your own research before copying and pasting what someone else wrote in error.
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thoreau101
10:31 AM on 01/11/2012
There's always that one stray Croc that might get you. No?
04:03 AM on 01/12/2012
But 'one stray croc' is not 'crocodile-infested'! And what are the chances? They also have white water rafting close by. I'm sure they would not be if it was crocodile-infested.
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mkmyday
dreams are the touchstones of our character
12:34 PM on 01/12/2012
Croc's have more sense than to jump from a bridge with a cord that could break. That one stray croc would have been too busy laughing...... to try to eat the fool.
onepersonsopinion
"a house divided against itself cannot stand" -A.L
01:20 AM on 01/11/2012
As a climber there is no way I would ever entrust my life to equipment used daily by a for profit company. The ropes, bungee cords, ankle attachments, harnesses, etc., are all pushed to the full extent of their capacity. In this case the equipment was pushed too far and it snapped. It seems insane to trust one's life to a company only interested in making a profit without any reference to know they're reputation. We research who we buy televisions from, but jumping a couple hundred feet off a bridge...??? She is very lucky to be alive!
04:47 AM on 01/11/2012
Absolutely right on the "for profit" quote. We'd be much better off trusting the safety of our equipment to a government inspector who received additional points on his resume because of a disability/veteran status that, in no way, makes him any more qualified for the job than the next applicant.
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11:22 AM on 01/11/2012
A government employee (who has not been corrupted by right wing corporate cash) has an incentive to protect and uphold safety regulations. A for-profit operator, who feels a competitive need to maximize profits and cut expenses, not so much. Why is this so hard to grasp?
01:33 PM on 01/11/2012
I guess you didn't make the cut because your disabilities were not from service in the army? The only thing clear from your comment is that I wouldn't trust you to inspect anything.
petzl
Maker of Fine Climbing Equipment
01:13 AM on 01/11/2012
Looks like the knot was tied improperly, the rope seems to fly through the knot... maybe an improper figure 8 follow through (improper stopper/fisherman's knot at the short end?). if it actually was a proper double-loop figure 8, hard to see how that would fail.
04:33 AM on 01/11/2012
That cord sure looked frayed though! :\
09:28 PM on 01/10/2012
any surprise it was in africa???
04:50 AM on 01/11/2012
Yes.
xgomazx
I am We
09:09 PM on 01/10/2012
Foghorn Leghorn: She remi - "I say, she reminds me of Paul Revere's ride. A little light in the belfry. "
"Nice girl, but about as sharp as a sack of wet mice."
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06:02 PM on 01/10/2012
Bargain vacay, bargain attractions, bargain bungee corrd....NOT worth it.
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FalstaffsMind
"This isn't right, this isn't even wrong." - Pauli
05:41 PM on 01/10/2012
"111 metres of pure adrenalin" and in much much smaller print... "and for a unlucky few, 25 additional metres of sphincter spasming free fall into the jaws of death."
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Mushu Friend
01:25 PM on 01/11/2012
ABSOLUTELY!!!
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carmenalex
STR8 AGAINST H8
04:43 PM on 01/10/2012
Talk about having an ice-breaker story! crocodile-infested waters and all.
03:55 PM on 01/10/2012
Well, she's got a good story to tell! That's the bright side of harrowing experiences like this. I've got a few from my more adventurous days.