Bungee Cord Breaks Over Croc-Infested Zambezi River

By Staff Reporter3 hours 5 minutes ago


VICTORIA FALLS - A 22-year-old Australian backpacker says it is a "miracle" she is alive after her cord snapped during a bungee jump over the Zambesi River on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.



Erin Laung Worth fell from the Victoria Falls bridge, 111m above the river on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.

She was forced to swim through the rapids with her feet still tied from the jump on New Year's Eve.



Erin Laung Worth was sent plunging into the rapids below, and forced to swim through the rapids with her feet still tied together after she fell from the Victoria Falls bridge, 111-metres above the water, on New Year's Eve.

"It went black straight away and I felt like I'd been slapped all over," she told Australian broadcaster Nine News. She said it was "quite scary" because the rope got caught a few times on some rocks in the river.

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

"When I was first pulled out of the water, they put me on my back and so all the water that I'd inhaled meant that I couldn't breathe so I made them roll me on to my side and that's when I started coughing out water and blood," she added.

Ms Worth said it was definitely a miracle that she survived the jump, which is understood to have been organised by Safari Par Excellence. The company's website prices the bungi jump experience at $120, advertising it as: "Not for the faint hearted!".

Damn lucky girl to survive.

I hope the zip lines are safer as we have them on the menu for next summer at Victoria Falls.
Randy

Note to self: Don't go bungee jumping.

and THAT was on my to-do list in Oct!
think I'll let the wife go first.....

Note to self: African maintenance standards are, like almost everything else on that continent, third rate.

That girl has her head together. She freed herself when stuck in the river and applied her own first aid. Go girl.

It is common for "jumpers" to suffer severe internal injuries going into water. No doubt the bungee slowed her descent enough to save her.

The bungee jumping wasn't for me, but the plunge into the Devil's Pool at the top of the falls was thrilling.

If your there in September be sure to try it out.

Jump into Devil's Pool

Been there and watched them bungee from the bridge, but never wanted to do it. After watching that episode I definitely won't advise anyone to try it. We just ziplined in Mexico over the holidays, and that was enough excitement for me.

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Note to self: African maintenance standards are, like almost everything else on that continent, third rate.

Does that include hunting lodges / camps, hunting cars, transfer vehicles, etc?


Tough and level headed young woman. She would be one to row river with.

quote:

Originally posted by Scriptus:

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Note to self: African maintenance standards are, like almost everything else on that continent, third rate.

Does that include hunting lodges / camps, hunting cars, transfer vehicles, etc?
Tough and level headed young woman. She would be one to row river with.

When the system and those around her failed, she showed the sought of independant self sufficiency so many lack these days.

quote:

Originally posted by Scriptus:

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Note to self: African maintenance standards are, like almost everything else on that continent, third rate.

Does that include hunting lodges / camps, hunting cars, transfer vehicles, etc?
Tough and level headed young woman. She would be one to row river with.

In a word..Yes.
I'm not a fan of "bungee jumping"..but if I were going to do it anywhere on the planet...Zimbabwe would be the absolute LAST place I consider giving it a try.

I've done the helicopter flight over the Falls and never felt afraid......until now!

hmmm.. $120.00 for the thrill and to think that in my younger days I was paid $55.00/mo to jump out of perfectly functional airplanes

I've skydived many times and bungee jumped once. But when I was on that bridge over the Zambezi and saw the platform the jumpers go off of, I said "no thanks". Went on the helicopter ride oabove the Falls instead.

quote:

Originally posted by Don Edwards:

quote:

Originally posted by Scriptus:

quote:

Originally posted by jetdrvr:
Note to self: African maintenance standards are, like almost everything else on that continent, third rate.

Does that include hunting lodges / camps, hunting cars, transfer vehicles, etc?
Tough and level headed young woman. She would be one to row river with.

In a word..Yes.
I'm not a fan of "bungee jumping"..but if I were going to do it anywhere on the planet...Zimbabwe would be the absolute LAST place I consider giving it a try.

Don,

It was Zambia mate and we would negotiate a discount for that.

about 10 years ago i made this same jump for $65. they film the whole thing from several different angles and if you buy the video they gave you a second jump for free. well of course i wanted a video momento and since another jump was free- well off the diving board i went. i must say the bungi cord showed a lot of frayed strands but what the hell!. i was third in line the first time. in front of me was a women about 50 yo and in front of her was her 70 yo mother. after they jumped, there was no way in hell i was going to back off. from time to time i pull out that old VHS tape and watch it to remind me of my courage/stupidity. that same day i took a micro-light flight over the falls. after we were airborn the pilot(?) killed the pusher prop and we soared over the Falls updrafts for about 30 min in complete silence- got some great picture. i was going to make a tandem sky dive that same day( the Zambezi Triple) but ran out of time. maybe next time- or maybe not!!