Gabriela Rodríguez Tezoco, 18, who had just graduated high school and been crowned school princess, fell from the 79ft 'El Péndulo' attraction during the Cabo San Lucas festival, as a probe launched and the safety chief was fired.
A festive night of lights, music and thrills turned to pure terror when an 18-year-old school princess was hurled to her death from a towering pendulum ride as it spun at full speed.
Horrified festival-goers watched in disbelief as Gabriela Rodríguez Tezoco slipped from her seat on the 'El Péndulo' (The Pendulum) attraction, also known as the Loop Fighter or Fireball, during the final evening of the Cabo San Lucas Traditional Fiestas in Baja California Sur, Mexico, on Tuesday night.
Grainy video filmed by terrified riders shows the brightly lit ride swinging and rotating high above the ground under a blaze of red, green and blue lights. Suddenly, the red over-the-shoulder safety bar covering Gabriela’s torso appears to lift. Her legs fly above her head as she is flung from the seat and plunges toward the ground below. The attraction continues spinning for several agonising seconds amid screams of panic before operators finally bring it to a halt.Infobae
Paramedics from the Mexican Red Cross raced to the scene and worked desperately on the young woman at the base of the 24-metre (79ft) structure. She was rushed by ambulance to a nearby hospital in critical condition but succumbed to catastrophic injuries in the early hours of Wednesday morning, despite the efforts of medical staff.Fox News
The Los Cabos city council said in a statement: “It is with deep sorrow that we announce that the young woman who was injured in the incident that occurred in the mechanical attractions area of the Cabo San Lucas Traditional Festivals, and who was immediately transferred for medical attention, lost her life despite the efforts of the health personnel.”
Gabriela, a recent graduate of Colegio de Bachilleres (Cobach) Plantel 10 in Cabo San Lucas from the class of 2026, had been elected “princesa” of her school. Photos show her beaming in a royal blue gown, tiara and white sash bearing the school’s name. Friends and teachers remembered her for her “beautiful smile,” kindness and warmth.
Teen, 18, plunges to her death from fairground ride after falling out of seat at festival
School officials paid tribute, writing: “We will remember you for your beautiful smile, your kind treatment and that special warmth that you left in those who had the joy of knowing you. There are people who, even when they leave, leave indelible marks on our hearts, and you will always be one of them.”
Her boyfriend's relatives were also on the ride at the time. His devastated mother later posted: “My beautiful girl, I’m going to miss you. A thousand thanks for making my son happy; we are heartbroken.”
Authorities immediately secured the ride and the surrounding area. The Baja California Sur State Attorney General’s Office (PGJE) launched a formal investigation, with forensic experts in engineering, architecture, and safety examining the attraction to determine whether the tragedy was caused by mechanical failure, a fault in the restraint system, operator error, or another issue. Civil Protection had inspected the fairground rides just four days earlier.Infobae
In the wake of the death, the head of the Municipal Directorate of Civil Protection and Risk Management, Francisco Cota Márquez, was removed from his post. An interim director, Diego Camacho Hale, was installed to ensure investigators have full access to records and permits. Mayor Christian Agúndez Gómez ordered the complete suspension of the Pendulum and a preventative inspection of every other attraction at the festival.
Speaking at the event, the mayor told the crowd: “Today, with the same spirit with which we come together to celebrate, we must come together to support Gabriela’s family. It could have been any one of us. You are not alone.”
As of Thursday, no operators had been named, and no arrests had been made. The investigation continues, with the ride remaining under official seal while experts determine exactly how the safety restraints failed to hold the young woman as the pendulum swung and spun above the packed fairground.
The tragedy has left a community reeling – a young woman who had only just celebrated the end of her school years, now gone in the most public and terrifying of circumstances.
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