Alabama Officials Now Say They Incorrectly Linked Boating Deaths to TikTok Trend
Alabama authorities now say that four people in Alabama who died after jumping off of speeding boats are not linked to TikTok 'boat challenge'
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Four people have died attempting social media 'boat challenge'Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect a substantive update made by authorities after publication.
At least four people have died in Alabama while attempting a "boat challenge" that has been linked by some to a purported trend on TikTok.
In the viral stunt, people are filmed jumping and flipping off of speeding boats into the water — sometimes set to the popular “Oh No” TikTok sound effect.
Capt. Jim Dennis of the Childersburg Rescue Squad told NBC News that at least four people in Alabama have broken their necks and died attempting the stunt.
"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," Dennis said.
TikTok has not removed the videos, but does now place a warning on them, cautioning “Participating in this activity could result in you or others getting hurt.”
"You can wind up with broken bones, a broken neck, or you could end up running into the propeller of your own boat or another boat could run over you and that would cause lots of damage if not death," Gail Kulp, executive director of the Sea Tow Foundation, told NBC News.
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"Hitting the water from a moving boat is like hitting concrete from jumping multiple stories stories up," Kulp said. She pointed out that if the boat is going fast enough to create a wake, then it’s going too fast for someone to safely jump off of it into the water.
This is not the first time a challenge linked to TikTok has resulted in fatalities or injuries.
In April, a 13-year-old boy in Ohio died after attempting the “Benadryl challenge," where someone drinks a large amount of the allergy drug to get high.
And for the aptly named “skullbreaker challenge,” teens would jump in the air — but kick the legs out from underneath one participant, which resulted in injuries and deaths.
"I don't think TikTok is the demon," Olivia, then a high school junior who suffered a concussion from the “skullbreaker challenge,” told PEOPLE, "but the way we used it needed to be changed."
And although TikTok has placed a warning on the boat stunt videos, the social media platform told NBC News in a statement that “it’s not accurate to characterize or report this as a TikTok challenge."
TikTok added the company "can’t comment on something that isn’t a trend on our platform."
The social network does have a section in its community guidelines devoted to “dangerous activities and challenges,” pointing out that “We do not allow showing or promoting dangerous activities and challenges. This includes dares, games, tricks, inappropriate use of dangerous tools, eating substances that are harmful to one’s health, or similar activities that may lead to significant physical harm.”
Additionally, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency clarified Monday on Twitter that they do not have any record that the recent fatalities are directly linked to TikTok or trends on the platform.
"On Monday, July 3, a news story was shared regarding 'first responders warning against a deadly boating TikTok trend after recent drownings' in Alabama," officials stated. "However, please be advised the information released to the news outlet was incorrect."
The statement continued, "The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Marine Patrol Division does not have any record(s) of boating or marine-related fatalities in Alabama that can be directly linked to TikTok or a trend on TikTok."
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