What began as a playful joke turned into a near-fatal experience for Erin Langworthy, a 22-year-old Australian visiting Victoria Falls in 2012. During a 360-foot bungee jump over the Zambezi River, her cord snapped mid-air, sending her plunging into crocodile-infested waters with her feet still bound.
Earlier, Erin had jokingly sent her mother a postcard saying goodbye “only joking!”—words that soon took on a chilling twist.
The moment was caught on camera: Erin fell gracefully, then violently hit the water after the cord broke. Knocked unconscious briefly, she awoke underwater, disoriented and struggling to surface. Despite tangled ropes, rapids, and internal injuries, she managed to swim to the riverbank, where staff helped her to safety.
“I was coughing up blood and couldn’t breathe,” she said. “My lungs were on fire.” She was treated for collapsed lungs and infection risk but miraculously had no broken bones.
Erin credited her instinctive arms-out pose during the fall for saving her from a head-first impact. Despite the ordeal, she remained philosophical: “It’s a miracle I survived.”
Zambia’s tourism minister later defended the bungee operation’s safety, citing over 50,000 annual jumps and just one known incident—Erin’s. To prove its safety, he even offered to jump with her.