Elizaveta Gushchina, 45, plummeted to her death from an activity tour in Russia. Just moments earlier she had sucessfuly jumped from the tower but wanted to get back on top so she could take a photo
A mum-of-two tragically plunged to her death after falling 290ft from a tower as she posed for a selfie.
Elizaveta ‘Liza’ Gushchina, 45, was enjoying an adrenaline fuelled birthday after jumping and swinging from the tower with “elastic rope” in Russia. But just minutes after her sucessful activity, the mum wanted to “take a selfie as a keepsake”, which took a deadly turn.
The extreme sports enthusiast “slipped and fell” in front of her 23-year-old son, Nikita. Rope-jumping company 23block, which operates the former boiler tower, said: “In tragic circumstances, experienced jumper and mother-of-two children Liza has passed away.
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“Elizaveta Gushchina, along with her son Nikita, was a member of our sports team. Now the whole team is mourning her loss. This is a very big tragedy for us.”
The mother was earlier filmed taking her successful leap in Pavlovsk, near Russian city St Petersburg. She had posted the terrifying fall which saw her swinging from the rope just above the ground. Before she was helped off the platform, she laughed and said “Let’s go!”.
She was on the same platform where she made her successful leap. “Without safety ropes, she climbed back up, slipped and fell down”, according to TV Zvezda, run by the Russian defence ministry.
The extreme sports facility is for “people who cannot imagine their life without adrenaline, rope jumping, flights, active recreation, free fall, and they want to share these emotions with you”, according to its publicity material.
The state prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the woman’s death, according to reports. “They will ascertain whether the organisers of the attraction complied with the law when providing services,” said the prosecutor.
It comes after a tech CEO died in a freak skydiving accident in Brazil after being hit by his friend’s knee mid-air. 44-year-old Thomas Britis and his friend jumped at the Boituva National Skydiving Centre in São Paulo.
According to Brazilian outlet G1, both of the pair’s parachutes deployed, meaning Thomas was unable to gain control after releasing it. The CEO of Voluy Telecom was rushed to São Luis Hospital, but died of his injuries.
His family described him as being “very experienced” as a skydiver, having jumped from planes since 2014. The collision occurred during what is known as a Desloc jump – a free flight technique where the parachute relies on your body to generate lift and horizontal movement as you fall.
The Brazilian Parachuting Confederation (CBPq) said it regretted the accident and has already instructed a technical expert to prepare a report that will detail and investigate the incident. Their statement reads: “At this difficult time, our thoughts are with our athlete, his family, and the entire skydiving community. We reiterate our commitment to the safety and integrity of everyone involved in our sporting activity.”