What began as a fun tourist stop turned into chaos high above China’s Zhangjiajie canyon. The world-famous glass bridge—suspended 300 meters above the forest—was packed with visitors when 67-year-old Svetlana Mikhailovna from Russia decided to have a little fun.

Wearing a bold “URRA!” T-shirt and full of energy, the retired physics teacher lifted a fake rock (a photo prop) and jokingly slammed it on the transparent floor to entertain her granddaughter via video call. But something went wrong.

To everyone’s horror, one of the glass panels cracked—not as a tourist gimmick, but for real. As the surface shifted, Svetlana slipped and fell through a sudden opening. More cracks followed. Tourists screamed and stumbled, several falling along with broken panels.

Miraculously, no one hit the canyon floor. A hidden safety net—designed for emergencies—caught Svetlana and the others. All escaped with minor injuries.

Officials later admitted that the cracked panel had been damaged during maintenance the day before. It hadn’t been replaced.

What was supposed to be a harmless prank ended up exposing a dangerous oversight—and possibly preventing a far worse disaster.

As her granddaughter said later, “Grandma always said physics is something you feel. This time, she really felt it.”