Eyewitness reveals what happened as woman died after staff 'forgot to attach safety rope'

A man who witnessed the moment rope jumper Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas plummeted to her death revealed what happened in the moments after she fell.

Over the weekend a harrowing video emerged, showing a Brazilian rope jumping company dropping a woman off 'Skeleton Bridge' in Limeira, São Paulo.

However, a harrowing oversight meant that Maria was let go without her safety rope attached, meaning that she plunged 131 feet to her death.

A voice in the background can be heard shouting: "The rope, people, the rope!" moments after Maria was let go, however by then it was too late.

The 21-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services, with three people connected to the rope jumping company - named as Luis Felipe Feliciano Egoroff, 32, Vitor de Freitas Gonçalves, 27, and Maicon Fernandes Cintra, 42 - later arrested in connection with Maria's death and charged with homicide with implied malice.

Maria had been rope jumping, which is similar to bungee jumping, except the rope is not elasticated (Facebook)

The investigation remains ongoing.

A legal representative for the men has since stated that Maria's death was a 'sad fatality' and that staff had worked for years without incident.

Meanwhile, an eyewitness at the bridge has since spoken out about the incident, revealing that children as young as six were waiting to jump when Maria's fall occurred.

"There were a lot of people there - not just a few. There were many people at the site," Higor Diniz told local outlet EPTV.

"There were children there, too, and they saw it happen... Some of the children were only six years old," he continued.

Revealing that people began to panic when the severity of the situation became apparent, he added: "It was a very intense scene. People panicked. Some who were farther back grabbed their belongings and started leaving."

Local police have since said the group which organised the jump did not have authorisation to do so, according to G1.

The rope, which had not been attached to Maria (X)

However, Marco Antonio de Campos Gonçalves Junior, president of the Brazilian Rope Jump Association, claimed that authorisation is not needed to jump off the bridge – which has a dark history when it comes to deaths and injuries.

"We do a vertical activity, which is not prohibited and does not require authorisation," he said, via AcidadeON.

Meanwhile, tributes have since poured in for Maria, who taught at physical fitness centre Panobianco Academia, with her story making headlines around the world.

"Today we said goodbye to a very special person to our Panobianco Silverstone family," read a post from Maria's colleagues (via The Mirror). "Maria Eduarda left her mark through the dedication, affection, joy and respect with which she treated everyone around her. Your presence illuminated the environments, and your memory will remain forever in our hearts."