An elderly woman went into cardiac arrest and died after falling to her death from a bungee jumping platform at a mall in South Korea on Monday.
The platform was located at a height of eight metres in Starfield Anseong Mall in Gyeonggi Province. The woman, who was in her 60s, was immediately rushed to the hospital after the fall but could not be saved. She was declared dead an hour after the incident.
The police believe that the bungee cord sprang loose due to a defective carabiner clip. The carabiner clip connects the rope to a beam or crane, ensuring that a person remains safe during the jump. Meanwhile, an investigation has been launched into the incident.
All types of adventure sports have some element of risk to life. Several such incidents are reported every year from across the world. In 2017, a Russian couple had to spend their Christmas in the ICU after their bungee jump from a bridge went wrong. The rope from which the pair was attached was too long. As a result, they crashed 80 feet below into a frozen river near the remote nuclear city of Seversk. They smashed into the thick ice below and sustained severe injuries. However, they were fortunate enough to survive the horrific fall.
Last month, a British base jumper lost his life when his parachute failed to open during a jump from a 29-storey building. The incident took place in Pattaya, Thailand. The 33-year-old man, identified as Nathy Odinson, was a skydiver and base jumper. The police were called to the scene by locals who witnessed a man crashing to the ground through a tree.
The video of the incident had even gone viral on social media. It showed Odinson jumping from the building after giving a briefing. He can be seen wearing protective gear and inspecting his equipment before jumping.
Odinson had extensive experience in base jumping. He had 10,000 followers on Facebook and would often share photos and videos from his stunts with his followers.
Earlier this month, a 26-year-old woman died in a paragliding accident in Himachal Pradesh, India. The accident occurred in the Kullu district of the state as the pilot of the paraglider failed to properly secure the victim's safety belt.
According to local police officials, the woman's harness gave way a few minutes after she took off. She fell on the roof of a house and died on the spot.
