TikTok: New boat jump challenge kills four in US

A challenge that went viral on TikTok, offering people to jump from moving boats, It has resulted in at least four deaths since the beginning of 2023 in the US state of Alabama.. The figures were released by local authorities last Tuesday (4).

The challenge, which is especially popular in the summer months on the short video social network, go to the back (stern) of the boat and jump from there while the boat is moving at high speed. The entire scene is filmed and shared on the platform.

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This trend isn’t new as such videos have been circulating on TikTok since 2020, but it seems that the challenges have gotten more radical in recent months, possibly with the search for more engagement. However, rescuers work hard to help victims.

In one of the incidents involving a boat jumping competition in motion that occurred in February in Alabama and was videotaped on TikTok, the victim was a father on board with his wife, three children, and other relatives. The most recent one happened in May and killed a middle-aged man.

Sudden death

According to Childersburg Rescue Team captain Jim Dennis, all of the deaths that occurred as a result of the TikTok challenge were easily preventable. In an interview with the local broadcaster WPDEgave some details about incoming calls.

“The four people we responded to when they jumped out of the boat literally broke their necks and, you know, basically died (took) instantly.Dennis also said that many people felt more emboldened while filming and eventually went on extreme adventures without knowing the risks.

Regarding this, sailor Larry King discouraged TikTok users from continuing this struggle, stating that jumping from a boat at high speed is not a good idea. In this conditions, contact with water is like jumping your face on concrete firstaccording to the expert.