Extreme sports instructors in Dagestan forcibly pushed a female tourist into Sulak Canyon after she panicked and tried to cancel her jump. Footage of the incident sparked online outrage after being posted as a promotional clip.
The woman had traveled to the North Caucasus republic on vacation with her husband and signed up for a rope jump experience. However, right before leaping off the platform, she became frightened and changed her mind about taking part.
Rather than unbuckling her safety equipment, the guides dragged the tourist toward the edge of the drop. One instructor kicked her leg before pushing her off the ledge into the gorge.
The woman's husband filmed the encounter on video, with his laughter audible off camera throughout the recording. After completing the forced drop, the tourist walked away without speaking.
Social media reaction
The instructors later uploaded the video to Instagram as an advertisement for their extreme sports business. Social media users reacted with anger to the staff's conduct and urged the tourist to take legal action and seek punishment for the men in court.
Footage of the incident was also circulated by Telegram news channel Mash Gor. Instagram is a photo and video sharing platform owned by Meta, while Telegram is a widely used messaging service across Russia and neighboring regions.
Sulak Canyon tourism
Sulak Canyon is a steep gorge located in the Republic of Dagestan, a federal subject of Russia situated in the North Caucasus region. The canyon is known internationally as one of the deepest in the world, attracting visitors for sight-seeing and mountain adventure activities.
Rope jumping is an extreme sport where participants jump from elevated cliffs while attached to dynamic safety cords. The activity relies on strict safety protocols, including immediate cancellation if a participant withdraws consent before jumping.
The publication noted a separate recent incident involving tourism in Russia, where another female visitor recorded a diving lesson on video and accused her instructor of sexual harassment.
