A 41-year-old woman has died after she slipped from her safety harness and fell more than 60 feet while riding a zipline in Italy. According to the New Zealand heraldGhizlane Moutahir died on Sunday in the presence of her relatives after slipping from the safety harness at Fly Emotion Park in Lombardo, Italy. The adventure sport was planned to take her 750 feet above the beautiful landscape at blazing speeds before coming to a stop. However, her safety harness failed to hold her as she neared the end of the ride, and she fell more than 60 feet to her death from the zipline, prompting an investigation.
Citing witnesses, the New Zealand herald reported that Ms. Moutahir was nearing the end of the 60-mile-per-hour zipline when she began to struggle before slipping out. Paramedics rushed to the scene to save her, but police said she died instantly on impact.
“We still don't know exactly what could have happened. I am shocked and in disbelief,” Matteo Sanguineti, CEO of the Fly Emotion company, told the Italian news outlet. TODAYNews. “We are fully at the disposal of the judiciary who are now investigating. And we are close to the victim's family. More than 200,000 people will have flown into the border crossing between the towns of Bema and Albaredo. I am shocked and incredulous,” Mr. Sanguineti added.
Ms Moutahir's two nieces were with her at the time of the tragedy. They filmed the entire incident while completing the zip line course themselves.
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Police said the 41-year-old stopped on the wire rope and remained suspended in the air for several seconds. Police believe she likely “began to struggle” after realizing she had stopped. “This led to her losing her balance and her falling approximately 20 meters from the harness into the woods below, killing her instantly,” a police spokesman said. “It is also possible that she had some sort of panic attack and was struggling as a result, or perhaps some other medical episode, but we are awaiting the post-mortem results,” she added.
Officials are investigating the fatal accident. They will carry out checks on safety equipment and have temporarily closed the park as a precaution, reports NZ Herald. They will also watch the video taken by Ms Moutahir's two nieces to fully understand the fatal incident.