When Erin Langworthy was traveling in Zambia two years ago, she was looking for adventure after graduating college in her native Australia. She was 22, and when the opportunity to bungee jump at the famous Victoria Falls that runs above the Zambezi River arose, she seized it.

She had never bungee jumped before but decided to tag along with a tour group, as she was traveling alone. Langworthy said she felt nervous prior to the jump, but knew nothing could go wrong. It turned out to be far more dangerous that she imagined, and she recently opened up to The Guardian about the extreme sport that sent her plunging into the river below.

“I was the 105th person to jump that day,” she said. “I stood on the platform, looked at my ankles, which had been strapped together, and worried aloud that my feet would slip out. Someone said that would be the last thing that [would happen].”

Despite her nervousness, she took the leap. She said everything was going fine until she realized she wasn’t coming to a stop. By instinct, she put her hands over her head, which was still aimed toward the water. After she hit the surface, she said the pain was immense and her lungs felt as if they were on fire.

She struggled to reach the side of the river after being caught several times by the rope that was still attached to her. It was only then when she remembered seeing crocodiles in the river earlier, making the entire experience that more terrifying. Langworthy finally grasped the rocks at the edge of the water and waited for 40 minutes until someone from the bungee jumping company could reach her. She was taken to the hospital before being airlifted to another in South Africa that was more advanced.

She was covered in bruises from the impact and had partially collapsed lungs, but was in good shape other than that. She later found out she had fallen 40 meters (130 feet), and was lucky because rain had fallen the night before, increasing the water’s depth. While in the hospital, Langworthy was visited by the man from the bungee company who came to her aid. He was wholly apologetic. The company has now introduced new measures to make sure similar accidents don’t happen again.

“I’m a positive person, so I’ve never been angry about what happened,” she said. “Around 50,000 people jump from that spot every year, so it was pure chance that the rope snapped on me—just wear and tear.”

Image from Ultratomio on Wikimedia Commons