The Secretariat of Union Heritage (SPU), of the Ministry of Management and Innovation in Public Services (MGI)had already asked the city of Limeira (SP) to block people from accessing the Ponte do Esqueleto.
This weekend, young Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, aged 21, died on site (the equivalent of a 12-story building) in a rope jump.
Located on the border between the municipalities of Limeira and Cordeirópolis, in the interior of São Paulo, Ponte do Esqueleto is a road structure of the former Federal Railway Network (RFFSA) which was never completed and has been deactivated for years, serving as an informal tourist spot. The place is used for extreme sports.
According to SPU, in 2024, when another fatal accident occurred in the area involving a cyclistlocal councils were asked to block access to the Skeleton Bridge.
“In 2024, as a result of this partnership, the bridge was blocked for a few months. Subsequently, the reopening was discussed and defended by local businesspeople in a session at the Limeira City Council,” says the organization’s note.
Understand
Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas, resident of Jandira, died last Saturday (13) after being thrown from the Skeleton Bridge without being attached to a safety rope. The jump was part of an extreme sport activity called rope jumping, in which the practitioner jumps from high places such as bridges, viaducts or cliffs, attached to ropes.
To be The sport was created by Dan Osman, who died in 1998 after his safety rope failed while he was rope jumping in Yosemite National Park, in the United States..
On the day of the accident with Maria Eduarda, the Limeira city hall informed that it would sue the federal government for omission. In a note, the city hall informed that, since 2025, it had been demanding action from the federal agencies that are responsible for the Skeletor Bridge.
“The tragedy this Saturday (13), which resulted in the death of a 21-year-old girl, makes the continuation of this omission unsustainable and unacceptable. The responsibility for monitoring, maintaining and controlling access to the Skeletor Bridge lies exclusively with the Federal Government.
The municipal administration and the City Council, on the initiative of councilor Bruna Magalhães, had already sent letters to the responsible bodies demanding security measures. No concrete measures were taken”, says the note from the municipal administration.
For the Union Heritage Secretariat (SPU), public authorities need to decide, jointly, the future of the Skeletor Bridge. “We understand that public authorities at all levels need to immediately join forces to definitively prevent access to the Esqueleto bridge and curb illegal activities”, says the note from the federal government.
The death
According to the Public Security Secretariat of the State of São Paulo, the death of Maria Eduarda happened during a rope jumping activity promoted by a private companywho did not tie the rope to the young woman before the jump. The Mobile Emergency Care Service (Samu) was called and confirmed the death at the scene. The body was sent to the Legal Medical Institute.
After death, .
Who should supervise
In an interview with TV Brasil, lawyer Arthur Rollo, former national secretary of Consumer Protection at the Ministry of Justice, said that access to the Skeleton Bridge is the responsibility of the Unionbut the municipality should control and authorize leisure activities on site.
Therefore, this responsibility should be shared between the federative entities and the service provider companywho did not even have the qualifications or preparation to carry out this activity.
“The responsibility, in this case, is joint, that is, simultaneously with the Union and the city of Limeira because the area is federal and, being federal, it would be up to the Union to manage it. And, on the other hand, it would also be up to the city of Limeira to inspect companies and professionals that operate in that area and do not have a license to operate and do not have a license or technical qualification to operate. So, the responsibility in this case lies with the Union, which should have looked after that area and prevented access, and also with the city council of Limeira. Limeira already knows that that area is used for adventure activities and should have monitored this”, he said.
According to Arthur Rollo, what occurred in Limeira should also serve as a warning for other regions of the country. “This is a warning to all public authorities and adventure service providers to take steps to prevent further deaths because, unfortunately, such deaths in adventure activities are not uncommon.”
