Bungee jumps always look incredible, don't they?
But sometimes we forget how badly things can go wrong. And there's no place that things can go much worse than hundreds of feet in the air.
This is something Erin Langworthy learned in about as brutal a way as is humanly possible, when she plummeted 360 feet into a crocodile-infested river.
Advert
Yep, in her early twenties at the time, the Australian was travelling through Africa when she decided to have a go at bungee jumping off a bridge over the Zambezi river in Zambia.
She stepped up to the platform back in 2012 and leapt off, swan diving into the picturesque abyss and down to the water below.
However, while it's customary for a person to bounce back up on a bungee, Erin did not. Instead, she kept on going, all the way into the river.
In footage shared on social media, her cord suddenly snaps, sending her plummeting into the water.
Luckily, she managed to survive the accident but her body was left battered and bruised.
The fast-flowing river dragged her downstream, with Erin struggling to get her head above water so she could breathe.
Speaking about her injuries later, she said: "I was black and blue all over, my lungs were full of blood and water."
Eventually, however, someone from the bungee company managed to get to her and grabbed hold of her harness.
She told the Guardian: "I started coughing up blood and began to worry about internal injuries. I felt exhausted and struggled to process what had happened.
"I jumped at 5.30pm and didn't get to hospital in Victoria Falls until 11pm. I was put on a ventilator, and needed an ultrasound and to see a lung specialist.
"They gave me a large dose of antibiotics – the doctors were worried about how much dirty water I had ingested. X-rays showed no broken bones, but my lungs had partially collapsed.
Adding: "The guys from the bungee company visited me in hospital. They were very apologetic and astounded I'd survived."
Following the accident, Erin called her mum.
She said: "I'd sent her a postcard the day before, saying, "I'm doing a bungee jump tomorrow, so I'll say goodbye… only joking!" which she now keeps on the fridge. She's adamant I'll never do another, but I'm not so sure."
Topics: World News, Sport, Travel, Australia
Dominic Smithers