Two Brazilian Instagram influencers drowned in a boating accident off the coast of São Paulo after opting not to wear life jackets, believing the safety gear would ruin their tans.
Aline Tamara Moreira de Amorim, 37, and Beatriz Tavares da Silva Faria, 27, were part of a group returning from a yacht party when their speedboat capsized in the area known as Garganta do Diabo – or the Devil’s Throat – which is filled with rapids and waterfalls. Both were repeatedly told by the boat’s captain to wear their life preservers since the vessel was going to be overcrowded and navigating rough waters.
According to the captain, the women declined their life jackets because they thought the potentially life-saving flotation devices would interfere with their tanning. “Some didn’t want to put them on because they were taking selfies,” said Sao Vincente Police Commissioner Marcos Alexandra Alfino after speaking with the captain. “They said that they get in the way of their tanning.”
The speedboat captain said he’d been pressured into taking six people back from the yacht party, when his boat could only accommodate five. Hit by rough waves, the boat overturned and the passengers were tossed into the water. One, Vanessa Audrey da Silva, who managed to get her life jacket on, managed to cling onto a rock until she was rescued. “There was a moment in the water when no one could see anyone,” she said. “I was fighting for my life.”
Police said Faria’s body drifted out to sea and was recovered by Brazil’s Maritime Firefighters, while Amorium’s body washed up on the coast of Itaquitanduva Beach nearly a week later. Amorim’s brother says his sister didn’t know how to swim.
Alfino added that an investigation is underway to determine whether the deaths were caused by recklessness or negligence.
The post Two Influencers Drown After Saying Life Jackets Would Ruin Their Tans appeared first on VICE.
The post Two Influencers Drown After Saying Life Jackets Would Ruin Their Tans appeared first on VICE.
