TikTok ‘boat jumping challenge’ linked to four deaths in US

A ‘boat jumping’ challenge that gained traction on the TikTok social media platform has been blamed for four deaths in the US state of Alabama.

The so-called challenge involves people posting footage of themselves jumping off a moving boat and into the wake — a dangerous activity that can easily result in severe injury or fatality.

Alabama officials have said that the viral trend claimed the lives of four individuals, who all broke their necks on impact, and are now warning against people taking part in the activity.

Captain Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad in Alabama told WBMA: “Last six months we have had four drownings that were easily avoidable. 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.”

The first victim reportedly died in February after jumping into the Coosa River as his wife and their children watched from inside the boat.

“Unfortunately, she recorded his death,” Captain Dennis said.

WPDE reports that the most recent incident in Alabama occurred in May 2023, and involved a middle-aged man. 

The hashtag #boatjumping on the popular social-media platform TikTok displays numerous videos of people hurling themselves off moving vessels.

One such video, which appears to have been recorded on Lake Norman in North Carolina, shows five people jumping off a moving boat and back-flipping into the water.

The ‘trend’ has been present on the platform for a couple of years, but appears to have become more popular in 2023.

“I think people, if they’re being filmed 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,” Captain Dennis told ABC 7.

“Do not do it. It’s not worth your life.”

Some of the videos marked on the #boatjumping feed now carry a warning, which reads: “Participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt.”