Woman’s bungee jump turns into fight for survival after cord snaps in mid-air

What began as a light-hearted adventure for a young woman quickly turned into a life-threatening ordeal when her bungee cord snapped, sending her into one of Africa’s most dangerous rivers.

In 2012, 22-year-old Erin Langworthy from Australia was traveling through southern Africa when she decided to try a 360-foot bungee jump from the bridge over the Zambezi River at Victoria Falls.

Before the jump, she playfully wrote to her mother: “I’m doing a bungee jump tomorrow, so I’ll say goodbye… only joking!” The note was meant as a tease, but within hours her words would take on an eerie meaning.

The fall that went wrong

Erin was the 105th person to jump that day. At first, her dive appeared flawless—arms stretched wide, freefalling gracefully toward the river. But in an instant, the cord snapped, sending her crashing into the water below.

The Zambezi is infamous for its powerful currents and crocodiles. Erin hit the surface with such force that she briefly lost consciousness. Still bound by the broken cord, she woke underwater, disoriented and gasping for air.

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

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“As I went deeper, the water got colder; I think that snapped me out of it,” she later told The Guardian.

Struggling through the rapids

Dragged downstream, Erin fought against the rapids as the bungee cord tangled in rocks and branches. Twice she had to dive beneath the surface to untangle herself. With bruised ribs, partially collapsed lungs, and her feet still bound, she somehow managed to reach the Zimbabwean bank of the river.

“I’d seen crocodiles that morning,” she said, “but I couldn’t even think about that. I was coughing up blood and struggling to breathe.”

Erin was rushed to a hospital in Victoria Falls where doctors put her on a ventilator, treated her for internal injuries, and gave her antibiotics to combat possible infections from the river water. Despite the severity of the fall, she escaped without broken bones.

She later credited her instinctive decision to keep her arms stretched wide during the fall, which she believes prevented her from striking the water headfirst.

The incident raised concerns about the safety of bungee jumping at Victoria Falls. Zambia’s then-tourism minister Given Lubinda reassured visitors, noting that the attraction had a record of more than 50,000 jumps a year with only one known failure. To demonstrate confidence in the operation, he even offered to jump alongside Erin.

For Erin, the near-death experience has not completely ended her adventurous spirit. While her mother insists she will never bungee jump again, Erin herself remains undecided.

Her story stands as a reminder of how quickly an ordinary thrill-seeking adventure can turn into a fight for survival.