Australian falls 111-metre drop and survives

Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old woman from Perth Australia, was bungee-jumping off Victoria Falls Bridge in Africa when her bungee cord snapped on New Year’s Eve.

The distance between the bridge and the Zambezi river below was 111 metres and as Langworthy reached the end of the fall, the cord snapped and she was flung into the water.

Suffering only cuts and bruises, Langworthy said it was a miracle that she survived.

The 22-year-old Australian dove into the water and wrenched the bungee cord of her feet just as she was entering the rapids.

Langworthy managed to swim to the river bank to await assistance and was treated at a clinic close to the scene before being evacuated to South Africa.

This was the first time Zambian Minister Given Lubinda had heard of an incident and attempted to reassure tourists that the 10-year-old bungee-jumping operation was safe.

Lubinda said that more than 50,000 tourists jump off the Victoria Falls Bridge every year and the probability of an incident is 500,000 jumps to one.