The present invention refers to a locking device (10) for preventing loads which are suspended by a cable from free falling and accelerating which is suitable for application where people and materials are suspended by at least one support cable. More specifically, the device is applicable to safety belts used in building construction, in movable individual and collective scaffolds, in little freight-elevators, and which prevents free fall of people and objects, be it by the breaking or loosening of the support cable, by locking an auxiliary cable autonomously. The locking device (10) of the invention comprises a casing (11) with a bore along its length, a passage segment (12) contained in said bore for the introduction of an auxiliary cable (13), compressing elements (19) located in said passage segment for biting into said auxiliary cable, and an elastic means (5) housed in the casing (11). In a first mode of operation the locking device (10) is movable along the auxiliary cable and in the second mode of operation the device locks on said auxiliary cable (13) biased by the reaction force of the elastic element (15), in response to an external force indicative of an acceleration due to the free fall of the body suspended by the main cable.
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