Multiple people have died after attempting TikTok boat jumping challenge
A new social media trend is in the spotlight after at least four people have died in Alabama, United States, after jumping off of moving boats.
The TikTok challenge shows people leaping off of moving boats and hitting the water.
Videos of TikTok users attempting the boat jumping craze have gained widespread popularity on social media. The hashtag “#Boatjumping” is being used to identify the trend.
According to Alabama officials, at least four people have died in the past six months while attempting the challenge,
Captain Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad told NBC News the four people died in the state over the past six months after jumping out of boats.
“The four that we responded to when they jumped out of the boat, they literally broke their neck and, you know, basically an instant death,” he says.
Dennis told Alabama’s WBMA, “They were doing a TikTok challenge. It’s where you get in a boat going at a high rate of speed, you jump off the side of the boat, don’t dive, you’re jumping off feet first and you just kinda lean into the water.”
Videos posted of people jumping out of moving boats have been going on since 2020, but more people are trying the challenge as they’re out on the water during the summer months.
Photography: Oliver Sjöström on Unsplash