TikTok boat jump challenge blamed for FOUR deaths in Alabama as cop says victim broke neck

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Officials in Alabama say a recent spike in boat fatalities was due to a TikTok trendImages posted to TikTok show many people jumping into the wake of a speeding boatRescue teams say that the trend has claimed the lives of four people, including a father, in the past few months alone

A TikTok boat jump challenge that sees people jumping off the backs of ships while moving at high speeds has been blamed for four deaths in Alabama.

The challenge, which was popularized on TikTok, involves individuals engaging in dangerous water activities.

Those participating in the challenge launch from the back of a boat and into the wake behind it, as the boat continues to move.

Now officials in Alabama have said the new fad claimed the lives of four people, after they snapped their necks instantly.

Officials said in the past six months they had dealt with four “easily preventable” drownings.

Officials in Alabama said the TikTok trend has now claimed the lives of four people. Those participating in the challenge launch from the back of a boat and into the wake behind it, as the boat continues to move.

Captain Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad told WPDE: ‘In the past six months we have had four easily preventable drownings.

“They were doing a TikTok challenge. This is where you get into a high speed boat, you jump off the side of the boat, don’t dive, you jump feet first and lean into the water a bit.

“The four we answered when they jumped off the boat, they literally broke their necks and, you know, basically instant death.”

Captain Dennis continued: ‘I think people, if they’re on camera I think they’re more likely to do something stupid because they want to show off in front of their friends for social media .

He said an incident occurred in February when the victim was a father with his three children, wife and other loved ones in the boat – his death having been recorded.

WPDE said the most recent incident in Alabama occurred in May and involved a middle-aged man.

TikTok footage of the craze shows people jumping off the backs of speedboats into whitewater.

Video was reportedly captured on Lake Norman, North Carolina, and shows five people jumping and black flipping in the water.

Captain Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Team told WPDE all of the deaths were preventable. Social media users have expressed concern over the videos, citing other deaths linked to the craze.

Following news from Alabama in recent days, the footage, originally shared in 2021, was inundated with comments warning of deaths.

One person commented, “This is so dangerous, uncool.”

Another posted: “So dangerous!” Four people broke their necks and died.

It’s not the first casualty trend that has made the rounds on the social media app, with two teenagers dying after taking part in the Benadryl challenge.

He sees people, usually children, swallowing multiple antihistamine tablets to induce hallucinations before posting videos of their experience.

Jacob Stevens, 13, died in April this year after Chloe Marie Phillips, 15, died in August 2020 after participating in the trend.

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