Nov 6, 2011

Base Jumping Banned on Black River Bridge

MANAUS, Amazonas – A video posted on youtube.com four days ago, and viewed over 37,000 times since, of 31-year-old Stanley William base jumping off the Black River Bridge has prompted the government of Amazonas to ban the practice.

Stanly William base jumps the Ponte Rio Negro (video: youtube.com)

The Office of Integrated Management (GGI) of Amazonas held a meeting on Friday afternoon to discuss the practice of extreme sports on the Black River Bridge. The committee met after the release of a video on the internet which shows extreme athlete Stanley William, 31, base jumping of the bridge last Tuesday, 01 November 2011.

At the meeting, members of the GGI decided to ban the practice of such sports at the bridge for several reasons. The Public Safety Department of the Amazon (SSP/AM) reported that the banned activities threaten the structure itself. Base jumpers require a boat on the river to rescue the athletes after completing the activity. Because the bridge, despite having been opened last month, still lacks protection for the support pillars, rescue boats pose a danger to the bridge. The protection system for the pillars is expected to be completed by the end of January.

Also, jumpers require a vehicle parked on the bridge at the venue of the jump, blocking traffic, in violation of rules imposed by the State Traffic Department of Amazonas (DMV/AM). The Black River Bridge, or Ponte Rio Negro in Portuguese, which opened on 24 October 2011, served as a platform for the base jump shown in the video and posted on Wednesday 02 November 2011. The athlete who made the jump, told G1 that he is the only practitioner of base jumping in the state of Amazonas and that he is proud to have been the fist to jump from the bridge.

For him, it is important to promote the sport in the state. “Few people know the sport of base jumping. Everyone thinks that it's the same as parachuting, but it is quite different. In countries like the United States there is a special day to practice the sport: Bridge Day. On this day, hundreds of athletes all over the country gather to jump from famous bridges in the country,” he told G1.

Planning the jump from the Ponte Rio Negro was no easy task. “I analyzed the time of day, the spacing of the bridge pillars, the security, the wind—all of these influences. The successful jump was the result of hard work,” he said. He told G1 that he has made about 300 jumps around the world. In Manaus, his favorite spots are communications towers and highrise buildings. “But now you have the bridge, I already know that it is great for that,” he added.

Famous sites are a favorite of his. In addition to having base jumped off the Black River Bridge, one of the most visited sites in Amazonas today, he has also jumped off the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro—one of the Seven Wonders of the World—which celebrated its 80th anniversary last month.

Stanley added that although there is a strong police presence on the bridge, he had no trouble engaging in his sport at the site. “The bridge is always full of police, but they couldn't prevent me from jumping. They're doing safety inspections of vehicles traveling there. This is great because there is no reason to stop something so healthy. I am a professional and not any danger to the bridge,” he said.

Read also: Related Stories

Read also: More Articles from Brazil Dispatch

Brazilian online news source for this article: G1 Amazonas

Do you like this post? Please link back to this article by copying one of the codes below.

HTML link code:

0 comments:

Post a Comment