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Dutch girl dies during bungee jump. Picture: YouTube
TWO bungee jumping staffers have been found guilty of manslaughter after a teen heard “now jump†instead of “no jump†from an instructor with poor English.
A court has heard Dutch teenager Vera Mol, 17, plunged to her death before her rope was secured when she misheard a Spanish instructor.
The Sun reports the tragic incident happened on the bridge of Cabezon de la Sal, located in the northern Spanish province of Cantabria, in 2015.
The instructor for tour operator Aqua 21 Aventura, who has not been named, has now appeared in court accused of causing the Ms Mol’s death.
According to Dutch publication Omroep West, the court found evidence of gross negligence on the part of the two bungee jumping operators, who failed to both verify the victim’s age and request permission from her guardians.
The company was also not licensed to organise jumps from the bridge.
Both operators face sentences of between one and four years in jail.
Vera Mol was not properly secured when she jumped after mishearing her instructor’s commands. Picture: CEN/AustralscopeSource:Supplied
Judges in the court of Cantabria, northern Spain, said the instructor should have checked for ID to make sure Vera was 18 years old, and added that his English was “macarronico†— which means “very badâ€.
It was heard Vera died after a misunderstanding during the jumping process.
The instructor is said to have shouted “no jumpâ€, but his pronunciation and English skills were so bad that the teenager believed he had said “now jump†instead and took the plunge, the court heard.
It is reported that the instructor should have said “don’t jump†instead of “no jump†to avoid problems.
Dutch girl dies during bungee jump. Picture: YouTubeSource:YouTube
The bridge was not meant to be used for bungee jumping under Spanish regulations.
Flowtrack, who run the bungee jumping company that employed the man, said it was an accident.
Martijn Klom from the company said the girl’s death was caused by a misunderstanding when she was receiving instructions for the jump.
According to Klom, the girl jumped when she was tied by the rope, but without being secured.
This article was originally published on The Sun and reproduced with permission.