Brazilian influencers were found dead after refusing to wear lifejackets and drowning following an overcrowded yacht party. 37-year-old Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim and 27-year-old Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria were found lifeless earlier this month after their launch reportedly sank off a stretch of Brazil's coast known as the “Devil's Throat.”
Highlights
- Two Brazilian influencers drowned after refusing lifejackets at yacht party.
- Yacht sank in 'Devil's Throat,' a dangerous area with strong currents.
- Survivors were rescued; investigation ongoing for recklessness or negligence.
- Influencers prioritized selfies and tanning over safety gear, captain reports.
The Maritime Firefighters Group in São Paulo, Brazil, first found the body of Faria on October 2. They subsequently found her friend, Amorim, on October 4.
The women were partying on a boat that sank in Garganta do Diabo, in São Vicente, on the coast of São Paulo, Brazilian newspaper Metrópoles reported on October 4.
Faria’s mother said she had spoken to her daughter just before the accident. The grieving mom told Metrópoles: "She said: 'Mom, I'm going out with a friend, we're going to go out on a boat and I'll be home soon.’”
Brazilian influencers were found dead after refusing to wear lifejackets
Image credits: Alina Kacharho / Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
Vanessa Audrey da Silva, Camila Alves de Carvalho, Daniel Gonçalves Ferreira, Gabriela Santos Lima, and Natan Cardoso Soares da Silva were all listed as the surviving passengers who were rescued shortly after the accident.
Following the shipwreck, Carvalho recalled the tragedy on social media, stating: “No one was drunk or on drugs on the boat.
“It was an accident. The truth will come out eventually.”
Image credits: liih_abencoada
Carvalho further revealed that the partygoers who died were not wearing lifejackets. She later recalled that she had clutched a lifejacket in her hands and clung on for dear life.
She revealed: “There were very strong waves, we almost died. We didn't know how to swim.
“I knew that I couldn't take it for long. I hurt my foot and swallowed a lot of water. We threw ourselves into the rocks.”
They drowned following an overcrowded yacht party
Image credits: liih_abencoada
Vanessa Audrey da Silva, another survivor, reportedly told local media that a group of friends and influencers had met up to party on a luxury yacht and spent the day cruising and drinking.
They later split into two groups to get back to shore, but one was swamped by a wave on the return journey, The Mail reported.
Vanessa said she managed to scramble to put on a lifejacket and survived by clinging to the rocks.
She recalled: “There was a moment in the water when no one could see anyone. I was fighting for life.”
Image credits: G1
In a statement, the Brazilian Navy said that an administrative inquiry had been opened to investigate the possible causes and responsibilities for the accident.
It stated: “It is worth noting that there was no record of water pollution resulting from the sinking of the vessel.”
Nearly a month after the drownings, police reportedly said that the women died when their overloaded boat was swamped as it returned to the Brazilian coast.
São Vicente police commissioner Marcos Alexandre Alfino revealed that the influencers had refused to wear lifejackets.
37-year-old Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim and 27-year-old Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria were found lifeless
Image credits: G1
The Daily Mail reported on Tuesday (October 29) that Alfino had said: “Some didn't want to put them on because they were taking selfies.
“They said that they get in the way of their tanning.”
The captain, one of five survivors, reportedly said he had been ordered to take six influencers to the shore despite his boat having a maximum capacity of five passengers.
A skipper also reportedly told police he had desperately tried to save everyone.
As investigations are ongoing, Commissioner Alfino stated: “'All this is being determined very calmly to conclude if the fatalities were based on recklessness or negligence.”
Amorim, who was a mother of one, reportedly could not swim. She had previously posted images of herself on social media, posing on the boat in a bikini right before the tragic accident.
The yacht sank after hitting a huge wave on September 29 in the Garganta do Diabo region, located between Porchat Island and Xixová-Japuí State Park, in a narrowing that leads into São Vicente Bay, Metrópoles reported.
Their launch reportedly sank off a stretch of Brazil's coast known as the “Devil's Throat”
Image credits: liih_abencoada
The area is notably dangerous, as it is a narrow channel marked by strong sea currents, intense waves, and irregular rock formations.
The risks of drowning and other accidents, such as sinking ships, are consequently increased in the area.
In 2017, an 18-year-old girl and the pilot of a jet ski were rescued by a military police officer after drifting in the region, as per Metrópoles.
The Garganta do Diabo region is also marked by shifting sandbanks that gradually alter the depth of the seabed, creating unstable zones.
This can change the wave patterns and their behavior as they approach São Vicente Bay, sometimes resulting in larger waves.
These conditions attract many surfers to the region, who must closely monitor tide and wave forecasts to stay safe.
Urban legends are mainly responsible for giving the canal its name, which translates to “Devil's Throat.”
Legends say that boats passing through the canal have been “swallowed,” akin to food in a throat.
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