Caught on Camera: Woman Survives Plunge Into Croc-Infested River After Bungee Cord Snaps
- Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:09pm by
Madeleine Morgenstern
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Image source: Australia's Channel 9 News
A 22-year-old Australian woman said it’s a “miracle” she survived after her bungee cord snapped in two, plunging her into a crocodile-infested river while on vacation in Africa.
Erin Langworthy was bungee jumping over the Zambezi River on New Year’s Eve when her cord broke 25 meters — or about 80 feet — above the water. According to Australia’s Channel 9 News, the total bungee drop is about 360 feet. The river divides Zambia and Zimbabwe.
“It went black straight away and I felt like I had been slapped all over,” Langworthy told the station. She hit the water and tried to swim with her legs still tied together, but stopped when her bungee cord got snagged on rocks.
“I actually had to swim down to yank the bungee cord out of what it was caught in,” she said. “I think it is definitively a miracle that I survived.”
She spent a week in the hospital and though she was covered in bruises was not seriously injured, the station reported.
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Comments (111)
Viper1
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:10pmAnd somebody told you that this looked like a good idea in the first place. Dumb-ass!
Report Post »red_white_blue2
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:53pmIgnorant uncaring comment!
Report Post »JL320
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:57pmGet back in your rubber room.
Report Post »Uranium Wedge
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:21pmFunny though.
Report Post »UrsaMajor
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:30pmNo! Original poster is spot on. It’s one thing to go bungee-jumping. No big deal. But to do it over a river known to be chock full of ginormous CROCODILES is the act of a full-fledged MORON.
Report Post »Therightsofbilly
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:47pmOWS material
Report Post »lodgerat
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:59pmThere seems to be quite a few trolls posting here lately. Too bad
Report Post »Servant Of YHVH
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:05pmStupid is as stupid does! Nuff said!
Report Post »theaveng
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:14pmIt’s not the crocs that are the danger. It’s the impact of your body against the water. That’s why thousands of people have been killed by jumping off high bridges
.
Report Post »FreedomPurveyor
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:32pmDon’t jump off of bridges, don’t end up in crocodile infested waters… that’s what I say.
Report Post »skitrees
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:01pmI agree with VIPER1. Just think, Obamadontcare will soon force us to cover these type of accidents in the US. Willful risk takers get a pass, but Big Mac eaters don’t.
My thoughts and prayers DO go out to the lady who suffered through this, but any time a person risks his or her life ENTIRELY on equipment, purely for entertainment purposes…it does elicit a certain amount of shoulder shrugging. No one MADE her accept this unnecessary risk. It was voluntary, and there are risks associated with it.
A third world bungee jump over a crocodile-filled river…what could possibly go wrong?! (I remember a very similar Looney Toons episode – ended pretty much the same way).
Report Post »imfrzn
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 7:56amIf she had any guts at all, she’d jumped with jet packs strapped to her waist with fire shootin out of her south side all the while using a wire rope instead of a giant rubberband. Isn’t this the point? Cheat death performing a high risk activity so you can post it on Youtube and earn yer braggin rights! Every once in a while someone has got to pay the cost of admission here or it starts lookin more like diving off of the side of your bed into a pile of cuddily bunnies!
Report Post »rogdog
Posted on March 21, 2012 at 3:02amTrue, but she is tough. Looking at those impact injuries I think I would’ve died.
Report Post »FREEZZMAN
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:09pmWhat a rush, got more for money
Report Post »tbl10
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:06pmI used to own a Bungee Jumping Company. After watching the video, the cord didn’t snap. There is a nylon rigging that attaches the bungee cord to the support ropes. It sure looks like that nylon rigging is what snapped not the cord. Bungee cords are designed to stretch up to 5 times their length. Cords do not snap entirely in one shot. As a cord fails individual straps break they will not all fail simultaneously. Don’t believe me take a bungee cord tie down and stretch it out, it breaks in individual strands not all at once. Is the operator negligent for using defective equipment sure looks like it, but the cord did not snap. Bungee Jumping is actually just as safe as sky diving as long as the operator maintains his equipment properly.
Report Post »wordweaver
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:31pmYour last sentence is the key point. I’ve spent enough time in third world countries and witnessed their standards for safety and construction. No way I would risk my life on these guys maintaining their gear properly.
Report Post »Uranium Wedge
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:25pmPromise me you won’t go bungee jumping in Mexico, they just don’t have the same standards.
Report Post »FreedomPurveyor
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:35pm“Just as safe” as jumping out of a plane? Of course both are safe provided your equipment operates properly. A minor malfunction, however, may guarantee a swift death.
Report Post »JOHNNYD
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 10:49am“Bungee Jumping is actually just as safe as sky diving as long as the operator maintains his equipment properly.”
I’m in agreement with most of the responses to this post. Standards in other countries are not the same as the U.S. (at least compliance is less consistent).
And, for what it’s worth, I’ve participated in an AFF program (accelerated free fall) that culminated in a successful “pull your own cord” skydive. And, even after having done that, I swear that I’ll never bungi jump in any country, including the U.S. Too many variables that are being managed by people who don’t come across as primarily safety conscious.
Report Post »bjornskis
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:04pmstupid is as stupid does
Report Post »lodgerat
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:02pmLife is like a box of chocolates… :-)
Report Post »mattmo79
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:54pmIf you leave it up to liberals, we all would need to be covered in bubble wrap and have to wear helmets just to walk around the block!!!
Report Post »Phoneguy
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:52pmShe got the full rush she was looking for!
Report Post »charles4227
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:22pmThis is the first thing any one running for president should have to do to prove they are qualified for the job.
Report Post »barackem
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:40pmHa ha! Next! Next! Next! Next!
Report Post »Ookspay
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:02pmThe crocs would never eat them, professional courtesy.
Report Post »Firefighter 538
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:21pmI will venture a guess the operator doesn’t complain about the cost of safety inspections because they are not required! Want to bungee jump without a safety inspection? Then you do it at your own peril. Some times it costs a little more to go first class.
Report Post »cmsdrizzt
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:30pmSafety inspections are crap. If I company provides a substandard product and the consumer dies or is injured then the company will pay the price thru lawsuits or people will take their business elsewhere. The FDA is not making our food any safer, nor our drugs safer, the EPA is strangling our economy. Building codes are creating more families with unaffordable housing. And I can go on and on. Buyer beware, the consumer needs not rely on big brother to protect him.
Report Post »theaveng
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:13pmUnless the company decides it is cheaper to pay-off the dead victim’s families, then to make a safe product. That is what happened with Ford and their Pinto cars
The cars were blowing-up and killing people, so Ford decided it was cheaper to just pay off the dead people. From that incident came the Safety standards for cars, because it was apparent corporations didn’t want to make safe cars. They were perfectly willing to let people die.
.
Report Post »chrisden
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 12:21amThere is no way I would do this sport in a third world country. Just saying……
Report Post »snufy
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:47pmPeople who do that kind of crap are stupid and deserve anything that happens to them.
Report Post »timej31
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:35pmWell I am sure the broken equipment is replaced. I mean you surly can’t jump using a broken one can you? Now the question I have for this lady is will you do it again?
Report Post »disque-0-duc
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:33pmIf you want to put your life on the line (pun intended) go for it! How stupid do you have to be to risk it all for a few seconds of adrenalin? I don’t think that is what God put us on this Earth to do.
Report Post »bluesavage
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:29pmHold my beer and watch this!
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:01pm…this won’t end well…
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:22pmThank GOD the company replaced the broken equipment .
Report Post »Who wants to jump with a broken bungee ?
Anyone ?
Gorp
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:32pmMy question is: Who wants to jump with a good bungee?
Report Post »wdittgasn
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 12:49amlol
Report Post »Jack007
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:20pmHow does God choose who gets a Miracle??
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:42pmTry skydiving without a parachute and you’ll find out.
Report Post »devan95
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 10:43pmHe asks Tim Tebow, who then asks Chuck Norris!
Report Post »Jack007
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:18pmHow does God choose who gets a Miracle?
Report Post »analogiafidei
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:33pmEvery time you take a breath; that’s how. Define miracle.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:13pmZimbabwe. Obama’s model for the future of America, where everybody is a billionaire.
Report Post »Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:03pmGlad indeed that God was looking out for her that day.
Report Post »13th Imam
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:54pmGood News
Report Post »I’m going bungee jumping
Bad News
Your bungee cord breaks
Good News
There is a river to somewhat break your fall
Bad News
Hungry Crocodiles
unpata
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:49pmBansai!!!
Report Post »Brents Torts
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:46pmSign me up.
Report Post »hardtruckerpaul
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:41pmI think the crocks should contact their attorney’ they have rights to!
Report Post »ZaphodsPlanet
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:07pmTalk to Cass Sunstein…. doesn’t he think pets should have lawyers?
Personally, I think life is full of enough adrenalin causing events without jumping out of an airplane or bungie jumping off the side of a perfectly good bridge. I didn’t see any gators in the video…. Where are the Gators…. I want Gators. And aren’t gators cold blooded? Why in the heck would they be swimming in cold water? I think the whole “Gator” thing was BS…LOL
Report Post »Cat
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 8:12amZaphodsplanet >
It is true, alligators and crocodiles are cold blooded.
They need warmth to be able to function, including seeing more than three feet in front of them.
On a very cold day, a gator can be approached quite easily, they can’t even smell that well when they’re cold.
There is little difference between a crocodile and an alligators, except crocs are typically larger then gators, have a narrow snout and can handle saline water.
If that is a croc infested river, the crocs are probably mellow because of the cold water and they’re simply floating on the surface trying to get a little warmth on their backs.
At the end of the day, it’s best to stay clear of any live giant lizard, including Komodo Dragons, warm or cold.
All are good to eat though.
Report Post »I.Gaspar
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:27pmMaybe the OWS could occupy the Zambezi River…the crocs say the protesters taste just like chicken.
Report Post »Honest_E
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:14pm@I.Gaspar – I just LOL’ed at your comment! hahahahah
Report Post »jackbauer
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:47pmHow does a croc eat a 99 percenter?. 1% at a time, of course.
Report Post »rafa2design
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:26pmI never understand why people even do this. Entertainment where you have to sign a ‘death clause.’
Report Post »gosutag
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:25pmAdrenaline fuels excitement. Basic principles of human nature.
Report Post »Gorp
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:39pmMy idea of “Basic principles of human nature” are:
Report Post »1. Eat
2. Sleep
3. Make Love to my Wife
4. Have Kids
5. Go to Work
6. Come Home Safely
7. Live My Life As Close As I Can To God’s Will
8. See # 1.
randy
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:45pmIn my case, years ago, beer was involved, Just once and never again :)
Report Post »snowdrop
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:20pmIf I was this very lucky and capable young lady I would think carefully how I get my adrenalin rushes in future!!
Africa is not well known for it’s safety record…..
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:19pmTired of the Hawaiian island getaways?
Report Post »scuba13
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:54pmNot me, I would like as many Hawaiian vacations as possible please.
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:57pm@SCUBA13
Report Post »Maybe you could be president some day! :)