Woman who died in bungee jump had ‘whole life ahead of her’

Kleyo De Abreu died on her second jump, hitting the wall of an older bridge below

The father of a British woman who died bungee-jumping in Spain has described her as a "beautiful young woman who had all her life ahead of her".

Aspiring fashion and design student Kleyo De Abreu (23) who lived in London, lost her life at the Tablate bridge near Lanjaron, in Granada province, Andalucia, on Tuesday, Spanish police said.

Ms De Abreu was staying with her aunt, who was present when the tragedy occurred, and was bungee-jumping with a licensed extreme-sports firm.

She had already jumped from the bridge once and died on her second attempt, hitting the wall of a smaller, older bridge below.

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Her father, Bernard Atwell, said relatives were in shock at the death of his daughter, who was of South African and Portuguese heritage on her mother's side.

He said Ms De Abreu had been visiting her aunt Gabriela and cousins in southern Spain after travelling in Morocco.

Mr Atwell (49) said: "She was originally from London and had returned recently from living in Cape Town in South Africa to follow her passion and study fashion.

“My primary concern is for people when they are just having fun.

“My daughter is gone and nothing is going to bring her back, but I have spoken to the family and we are all on the same page - we don’t want something like this to happen again.

“Every father will say this but she was very special, she was a very beautiful young woman who had all her life ahead of her.

“She was 23 years old but to me she will always be my little baby and I would very much like to make sure this doesn’t happen again to anybody else.”

The Tablate bridge has a drop of 80 metres and is a popular bungee-jumping site used by several adventure sports firms.

Thrill-seekers fall for about 20 metres and swing underneath the bridge, with a first jump offered for around €35.

A statement for the Guardia Civil, the Spanish police force, said: “The 23-year-old British national made the jump and hit a wall of a smaller bridge and died on the spot.

“The cause of the accident is being investigated by the judicial police of the Guardia Civil Orgiva. The body was recovered by a special unit of the Guardia Civil and was transferred to the Institute of Legal Medicine of Granada.

“The woman was spending a few days in Spain with a relative, this relative was with her at the time of the accident.

“She had already made a first jump and the accident was making the second.

“The activity is offered by an extreme sports company that is duly registered and authorised to offer these sports.”

Lanjaron is about 46km from Granada on the southern flanks of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and is famous in Spain for its mineral water.

The region is popular with expats and near to the bohemian town of Orgiva, which attracts people living alternative lifestyles from all over the world.

Guardian Service