SNAP went the crocodile... or was it the croc?

[Blasphemous]

I'll give the Bungee thing a miss I think....

Girl survives bungee snap into crocodile-infested water

This is the horrific moment an Australian bungee jumper saw her cord snap- into crocodile-infested water.

Erin Langworthy, 22, said that it was a “miracle” that she survived after her 111-metre jump over the Zambezi River, between Zimbabwe and Zambia, went awry. Langworthy was nearing the bottom when her cord snapped, plummeting her into crocodile-infested waters. Submerged into the raging rapids, Langworthy had to struggle to keep her head above water in the accident that was caught on video.

Her situation was made even worse by the fact that her feet were still tied, making escape from the water even tougher. The snapped rope had also followed Erin Langworthy into the water.

“It went black straight away and I felt like I'd been slapped all over,” she told Australia’s Channel Nine.
“The water was going quite quickly and then I started to hear the roaring. It's like being in waves, you get sucked under and then you pop up so it's very disorienting, I didn’t know which was up or down.”

Langworthy eventually managed to climb out of the water on the Zimbabwean side of the river after a lengthy ordeal. “It was quite scary because a couple of times the rope actually got caught on some rocks or debris,” she said. “I actually had to swim down and yank the bungee cord out of whatever it was caught on to make it to the surface. It's definitely a miracle that I survived.”

Zambian tourism minister Given Lubinda sought to dispel any fears over the safety of bungee jumping in the area, Langworthy’s organised by a company called ‘Safari Par Excellence’.

"The bungee has proven to be a very viable operation considering that more than 50,000 tourists jump on it every year," Lubinda said. "It has been in operation for 10 years. This is the first time I am hearing of an incident. The probability of an incident is one in 500,000 jumps."

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/girl-survives-bungee-snap-into-crocodile-infested-water.html

 

[Djnikon]

The interview is brilliant, she speaks about it like it was just "one of those things"... What a woman!

Imagine if it had been an American (or even some Brits) they would be talking up who they were going to sue before they even hit the water. But this young woman is just brilliant.

 

[Crickleymal]

Imagine if it had been an American (or even some Brits) they would be talking up who they were going to sue before they even hit the water. But this young woman is just brilliant.

I don't know perhaps they ought to be sued for not checking their equipment properly. It's not like she's grossly overweight or something, the kit ought to be able to take her weight without failing.

 

[Blasphemous]

Imagine if it had been an American (or even some Brits) they would be talking up who they were going to sue before they even hit the water. But this young woman is just brilliant.

I don't know perhaps they ought to be sued for not checking their equipment properly. It's not like she's grossly overweight or something, the kit ought to be able to take her weight without failing.

I tend to agree Crickleymal, regardless of what weight she or anyone else is, the bungee line has to be able to take the stress of that weight. Imagine the outcome if the jump had not been carried out above water and/or water not deep enough to take such a massive dive!

That said, I also agree with Djnikon, unlike the other so called 'Iron Lady' mentioned in this forum (who was named as such due to having more backbone than your typical male tory, a trait most women could lay claim to), this young woman is certainly a woman of substance, a real 'Iron Lady'. Many (male and female), would understandably be a trembling wreck following such an accident.

 

[Norcon]

What an idiot for jumping in the first place. If it was concrete below she'd be dead.

 

[sooey]

That girl's a star, she's got ten times more bottle than most people...me included.

 

[noseall]

Thrill-seekers can be a selfish bunch.

Very few ever think about what a burden they can be upon the emergency services i.e. helicopters, lifeboats, rescue crews, hospital staff and the like, but always enjoy the cushion or safety net that they provide.

Jeepers, what a boring dreary addition to this thread.

I'm off!

 

[Blasphemous]

Thrill-seekers can be a selfish bunch.

Very few ever think about what a burden they can be upon the emergency services i.e. helicopters, lifeboats, rescue crews, hospital staff and the like, but always enjoy the cushion or safety net that they provide.

Jeepers, what a boring dreary addition to this thread.

I'm off!

Does that go for Mountaineering, Hiking, Skiing...?

 

[Djnikon]

Imagine if it had been an American (or even some Brits) they would be talking up who they were going to sue before they even hit the water. But this young woman is just brilliant.

I don't know perhaps they ought to be sued for not checking their equipment properly. It's not like she's grossly overweight or something, the kit ought to be able to take her weight without failing.

Where is it reported that they didn't check equipment? This type of activity carries a high risk no matter how many safety checks have been done. You can't just assume that they did no checks and shout sue them.

 

[libby lou lou]

But it's quite apparent that they did not follow the safety route, isn't it?

 

[imamartian]

But it's quite apparent that they did not follow the safety route, isn't it?

Lib, you really ought to follow such a statement with an explanation !!!

 

[Djnikon]

But it's quite apparent that they did not follow the safety route, isn't it?

How is it apparent? What makes it so? This type of activity carries a high risk. Anything could happen. That cord could have been checked a million times with no fault found and yet still snap.
There doesn't have to be a "safety failure" for this to have happened, seems it's just the easiest summation and one so that "sue them" can be bandied about.

 

[sooey]

Or it may never have been checked at all, beyond a cursory glance by someone who can't be arzed or doesn't know what to look for.
I suppose there is a limit to how many times one particular harness can be used, was that followed?
The fact is that that cord should certainly be able to bear the weight of a human body and should never have snapped.
If I was that young lady I'd want to sue them too, because safety and maintenance records can then be examined in court to see if a proper safety regime was adhered to.

 

[Blasphemous]

Or it may never have been checked at all, beyond a cursory glance by someone who can't be arzed or doesn't know what to look for.
I suppose there is a limit to how many times one particular harness can be used, was that followed?
The fact is that that cord should certainly be able to bear the weight of a human body and should never have snapped.
If I was that young lady I'd want to sue them too, because safety and maintenance records can then be examined in court to see if a proper safety regime was adhered to.

An accident such as this (thankfully with a happy ending... this time!), and legal process has an amazing knack of focussing the mind and attention. At the very least one would hope there is some form of accident investigation over there by someone other than/as well as the company involved.

There's an interesting line at the end of the original quote:

Zambian tourism minister Given Lubinda sought to dispel any fears over the safety of bungee jumping in the area, Langworthy’s organised by a company called ‘Safari Par Excellence’.

"The bungee has proven to be a very viable operation considering that more than 50,000 tourists jump on it every year," Lubinda said. "It has been in operation for 10 years. This is the first time I am hearing of an incident. The probability of an incident is one in 500,000 jumps."

Hmmm, 50,000 jumps a year, over 10 years just happens to work this accident out nicely at the accident 'probability' factor! The frequency and timing seems surprisingly precise!

 

[Alarm]

Planes crash, Cars crash.
Things break, how often do you see a bungee cord break. Not often.

I did one at Chelsea, when the tide was low if that snapped you would be head first in the Thames forever

Word of advise when near the bottom of a static landing area, stand back.
We saw 3 blokes with messy pants afterwards................eweeeeeeeeeeeeee.