Couple die in bungee jump horror after begging to take leap from bridge

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT The engaged couple were keen to do a tandem bungee jump together and even called the owner of the facility to get him to stay open later to allow them to jump – but it all ended in tragedy

An engaged couple plummeted more than 300ft to their deaths in what was supposed to be an exciting tandem bungee jumping adventure, but it ended in horror.

Bungee jumping is an extreme sport beloved by many thrill-seekers, in which a person jumps headfirst from a high structure like a bridge, tall building, cliff, crane and more, all while attached to a strong, elastic cord.

It gives the person the feeling of free-falling, before the elastic cord stretches and absorbs the shock of the fall, bouncing and snapping the jumper upwards until the energy of the fall is absorbed. Typically, people are then lowered to the ground or another recovery vessel.

But for Italian couple Alberto Galletti and Tiziana Accora, their bungee jump would end in a shocking fatal tragedy.

It was May 1, 2002, and the couple ventured to the Ponte Canale bridge at the Polino Bungee Jumping Centre near Terni, in central Italy, around 60 miles north of Rome.

In a sad twist, the centre was closing early for the May Day bank holiday when the couple called manager Lorenzo Illuminati and pleaded with him to stay open a little longer so they could complete a jump together.

Alberto, who was a 25-year-old paratrooper at the time, and Tiziana Accora, then a 26-year-old student, leapt together from the high bridge, falling 330 feet to their deaths below.

Tragically, the snap-hooks securing their cord to the bridge gave way, causing them to fall to the canyon floor.

As was standard, their deaths were captured on video. The bungee jumping facility often recorded footage of customers’ jumps so they could keep them as a souvenir and always remember their experience.

At the time, Lorenzo Illuminati told state television: “I had actually closed when they called. They begged me to stay open so I waited for them. They jumped off together in each other’s arms and then this happened. It’s terrible.

“Just an hour earlier another couple jumped safely using the same elastic band and clips.”

Their deaths were reportedly the first to have happened at the site.

Terni police spokesman, Lt Rovaldi Di Marco, said at the time: “At the moment the investigation is focusing on the safety harness that was being worn by the couple and the clips that secure it to the bridge.

“The cord was found intact and before the couple a man of 90kg jumped off the bridge.”

Di Marco added: “I understand that Alberto was a serving paratrooper with a regiment based in Siena and so had done this before but we think it was Tiziana’s first time at bungee jumping.

“The elastic cord did not break but we think the safety harness it was attached to came out of the bridge.”

The policeman was asked if the cord was strong enough to support two people jumping together.

He replied: “From what I know, it should have been able to cope with a combined weight of 2,000kg so, in theory, it should have been okay.

“However, that is one aspect we will be looking at as well as the safety clips that are harnessed into the structure of the bridge or maybe it was a human error – it is still too early to say.”

The site was subsequently closed while the police conducted an investigation into the couple’s deaths.