In 2012, Erin Langworthy from Australia took a daring 360-foot bungee jump at Victoria Falls near the Zambia-Zimbabwe border. Before the jump, she sent a playful postcard to her mother saying, “I’m doing a bungee jump tomorrow, so I’ll say goodbye… only joking!” A few moments later, that joke became hauntingly real.
Erin, the 105th jumper that day, felt the thrill and nerves but imagined all would go well. Cameras captured her poised with arms wide open — until the bungee cord snapped mid-jump.
Falling into the Zambezi River, she hit the water hard. The broken cord was still tied to her feet, dragging her through dangerous rapids filled with rocks and debris. She hit the water unconscious but soon awoke underwater, disoriented and gasping.
Showing courage, Erin repeatedly dove beneath the surface to untangle the cord and swam towards the Zimbabwe side. She suffered bruises and internal injuries, coughing up blood from the contaminated water, but survived.
Erin Langworthy survived horror injuries after her bungee cord snapped from 360ft in Zambia.
She had joked about her death the day before it happened.
The accident was considered a miracle after she fell into crocodile-infested waters. pic.twitter.com/bW1JVmCaiU
— TrendMagnetHQ (@TrendMagnetHQ) January 16, 2024
Later at a hospital, doctors treated her for partially collapsed lungs and infections but found no broken bones. Erin praised the bungee team and called her survival miraculous.
Zambia’s tourism minister addressed fears by highlighting the jump’s strong safety history. He even offered to re-jump with Erin to demonstrate its safety.
Though Erin’s mother insists she’ll avoid bungee jumping again, Erin herself is still unsure.
