Woman feared dead after zipline snaps over Kyiv river
A young woman is feared to have drowned in the Dnipro River in central Kyiv after the zip wire attraction she was riding on snapped.
Eyewitnesses said that the unnamed woman was travelling at high speed across the river on the zip wire when it suddenly broke and she plunged into the river.
A video showed dozens of men heaving the zip wire up from the river in a desperate attempt to rescue her.
“Unfortunately, she was not there,” Pavlo Petrov, an eyewitness, told the Ukrainskaya Pravda website. “Both the police and the diving and rescue departments of the State Emergency Service are currently working at the scene and are examining the river.”
Rather than holding onto a raised handlebar in typical zip wire style, riders on the Kyiv Flyline! are strapped into a bucket seat. Sodden, this heavy strapping may have weighed the woman down and dragged her under the water.
More videos showed divers and boats scouting the river for the lost woman.
In one video, shot from the adjacent pedestrian bridge, a man said: “The woman fell in here but we fear she has drowned as we haven’t seen her”.
The Kyiv city state administration said that traffic in central Kyiv would be affected by the accident and that it would investigate the company operating the attraction, which only opened in 2021.
“A rescue and search operation is underway, involving special equipment and boats with divers,” it said.
Kyiv Flyline! advertises itself as the “main zipline in Ukraine, promising an experience that delivers vivid impressions and the joy of experiencing free flight” as well as a focus on safety.
“Reliable ropes and highly professional instructors ensure your guaranteed safety during the flight on Kyiv Flyline!” it says on its website next to videos of customers clearly enjoying the ride.
The Kyiv Flyline! zip wire sends people across the wide Dnipro River from near the Soviet-built Friendship of Nations Arch to Trukhaniv Island, a ride that measures 500m in length and lasts 65 seconds, according to the website.
The company has not commented.