Police in Brazil have arrested three more suspects a week after the death of a 21-year-old woman in a rope-jumping accident, with investigators suspecting evidence may have been suppressed.

Investigating police chief Andréa Levy said at the weekend there were indications that evidence relevant to the inquiry may have been withheld because a recording device Maria Eduarda Rodrigues de Freitas was wearing during her fatal jump had vanished.

The three suspects arrested on Saturday – a 29-year-old woman and two men aged 25 and 27 – belonged to the team responsible for organising and carrying out the jump, police said.

Temporary arrest warrants were issued for an initial period of five days.

A court also authorised searches and the seizure of mobile phones, electronic devices and other evidence.

Investigators said there were also indications that digital content may have been deleted following the accident.

The inquiry is being conducted on suspicion that those responsible may have knowingly accepted the risk of Rodrigues de Freites’s death.

Authorities are also examining possible obstruction of justice.

Rodrigues de Freites fell about 40 metres on June 13 from the disused Ponte do Esqueleto bridge between the towns of Limeira and Cordeirópolis in the state of São Paulo. The aspiring teacher had asked to be launched from the bridge aeroplane style, with two instructors hoisting her above their shoulders as she spread out her arms.

Video footage shows members of the organiser’s team pushing her from the jump platform, even though the safety rope remained unsecured on the platform.

Among those who watched the fatal jump were Rodrigues’ de Freites fiance. He fell ill after the deadly accident.

The three instructors held on the same day remain in custody.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, their lawyers said the trio was experienced and it was their first fatality in years of operation.

They have so far been unable to explain how the fatal error occurred.

The disappearance of the camera the 21-year-old was wearing during the jump has puzzled investigators for days.

Police continue to search for the device, which is considered an important piece of evidence for reconstructing what happened.

An eyewitness told the news portal G1 that after the impact he had observed one of the organising team removing the device from Rodrigues de Freites’s body.

-with AAP