Two deaths could be down to selfies and no-lifejackets
Investigations are continuing about the deaths of two women returning from a party on a luxury yacht. The incident happened in Brazil, late October 2024. While the inquiry continues, the city’s chief police officer, Marcos Alexandre Alfino has revealed to local media that some passengers refused to wear lifejackets as they were taking selfies – and their boat back to shore was overloaded.
“Some didn’t want to wear life jackets because they kept taking selfies. They said that they get in the way of getting a tan,” says Alfino, based on the testimony of the smaller boat’s skipper.
The incident has sparked debate about putting ‘likes’ on social media above safety. The decision to refuse lifejackets highlights how the obsession with capturing the perfect image can lead to poor decision making and sometimes fatal consequences, says one news site. However, as anyone involved in the marine industry knows, there are those who chose to go without lifejackets when onboard citing a plethora of reasons (wearing one ‘when they need it’).
The transport boat sank with seven people in Garganta do Diabo (the Devil’s Throat), in São Vicente.
Alfino says the boat could take five people, but the contractor insisted the skipper take six. And, during the journey, the group asked to change their destination to São Vicente, where the incident occurred.
The boat was hit by a huge wave which was too heavy to ride out, and it began to sink. The skipper told police he had tried to help everyone, but stressed he was only able to pull some of the survivors out of the sea.
“All of this is being investigated very calmly so that we can conclude . . . whether there was some conduct based on recklessness and negligence,” says Alfino.
Two women died, five other people survived. The women who died have been identified as Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim (pictured above and seemingly a non-swimmer) and Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria.
Vanessa Audrey da Silva, one of the group, told media that the party involved riding jet skis, having some drinks and spending the day in Guarujá. The group split into two smaller boats to meet in São Vicente and return to Santos by land.
Da Silva was onboard the smaller boat which was hit by a large wave. She says she clung to a life jacket with a woman she didn’t know. Then she managed to hold on to the rocks at the bottom of Porchat Island and scream for help.
“There came a point in the water where no one could see anyone,” da Silva says.
“The waves were so strong, we almost died. We didn’t know how to swim,” Camila Alves de Carvalho, who was also in the smaller boat, told media.
“We knew we couldn’t hold on much longer, I hurt my foot and swallowed a lot of water. Our solution was to throw ourselves on the rocks.”
However a passer by saw the women. The local Fire Department sent three vehicles to help in the search and the Brazilian Navy sent a vessel to assist.
While five people were rescued, two women disappeared. Their bodies were found later that week, one in an area close to the Santos Submarine Outfall, the other in Itaquitanduva, between the beaches of Xixová Park, in São Vicente.
The Devil’s Throat, the region where the accident occurred, is located between Porchat Island and Xixová-Japuí State Park, in São Vicente. It attracts surfers because of the waves, but hides several dangers due to the strong currents that hit the area.
This isn’t the first time where vanity has been blamed for accidents in boats. A group of tourists took an unplanned dip in the chilly waters of a Venice canal when their gondola capsized after they refused to sit down and stop taking selfies. The incident occurred as the gondola was passing under a bridge at Rio de la Verona, a difficult manoeuvre that requires maximum balance of the weight on board. However, this incident did not end in a tragic loss of life.
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