Bungee jump instructor
A teenage girl plunged to her death in a horrifying bungee jumping tragedy after the instructor's "poor English" caused her to leap before her safety cord had been properly secured.
The extreme sport involves thrill-seekers diving head-first from a tall structure - such as a bridge, crane, or tower - while being firmly attached to a long, highly elastic cord.
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It remains a widely popular activity that allows participants to experience the exhilarating sensation of free-falling, before the cord stretches to absorb the momentum and propels them back upwards.
For Vera Mol, however, her adventure would end in heartbreaking tragedy. In August 2015, Vera, who was just 17 years old at the time of her death, leapt from a bridge following a devastating misunderstanding of the bungee instructor's commands.
Her safety rope had not been correctly attached, resulting in her fatal fall.
The young woman, from the Netherlands, had been part of a group of 13 fellow Dutch and Belgian teenagers embarking on a bungee jumping excursion in Cabezón de la Sal, Cantabria, Spain.
Vera had watched her peers jump successfully - she was due to be the penultimate member of her group to take the leap. However, when the instructor called out "no jump", a court heard she may have misheard this as "now jump".
Vera stepped off the edge of the bridge and plummeted approximately 32 metres to her death, landing on the riverbed below.
Following the tragedy, Spanish courts launched an investigation into the incident on grounds of negligence. The courts ruled that had the instructor used a different phrase, for example the clearer instruction "don't jump", alongside stricter safety checks, Vera's death could have been prevented.
The instructor's confusing language was a pivotal factor in Vera's jump proving fatal, with judges describing the instructor's English as "macarronico", which translates to "very bad".
The instructor's command of English was deemed insufficiently competent for him to be overseeing foreign nationals in "something as delicate as jumping into the void from an elevated point".
The instructor appeared in court accused of causing Vera's death.
Meanwhile, the director of the bungee jumping company also faced prosecution for negligent homicide, according to reports at the time.
Flowtrack, the company which operates the bungee jumping service and employed the worker involved, branded it an accident.
However, Martijn Klom from the firm conceded Vera's death was the result of a misunderstanding.
He confirmed she had received instructions which left her confused and that she was attached to the rope when she jumped - but had not been safely secured to the bridge.
Alongside the fatal language confusion, the court was presented with a catalogue of safety failures that contributed to Vera's tragic death.
The instructor had failed to attach the 17-year-old to any safety line during the ascent to the bridge, leaving her standing completely unsecured just moments before she made her fatal jump.
The judges were further informed the adventure firm neglected to provide a secure waiting area for the group, leaving teenagers to stand at what was described as "the edge of the abyss" while awaiting their turn to jump.
Staff also faced criticism for failing to verify Vera's ID to confirm she was aged 18 or over. Being just 17, she was legally too young to take part, and the company neglected to obtain parental consent before allowing her onto the bridge.
Vera's devastated family subsequently called for tighter safety regulations to prevent another young life being lost in such a needless and wholly avoidable tragedy.
Vera's death mirrors the more recent case of Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas who, in harrowing footage, can be seen being carried by instructors to the edge of an abandoned bridge in São Paulo state, Brazil, before plummeting to her death 130 feet below.
Instructors had failed to attach a rope to Maria before assisting her jump. Three men have since been arrested in connection with the incident, which occurred on Saturday, June 13 2026.