A young woman has drowned at a popular Brazilian beach resort and her husband has recounted the heartbreaking moment he felt her die in his arms as he struggled to pull her to the shore.
Izabella Masson, 26, was swimming in the sea at Balneario Maracana in the municipality of Praia Grande in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo with her husband of one year, Enzo Gabriel Bertolo, 27, on 28th November.
Bertolo told the news site G1 that he almost drowned as well while trying to save his partner in the strong currents.
He said: “We knew each other for eight years, and we’ve been married for a year and five months. After I changed jobs and made a little extra money, I gave her this beach trip as a gift because her birthday is in December.
The couple, who lived in the municipality of Americana, decided to go swimming at around 1pm as the sun was very strong.
Bertolo said: “The water was around my waist, it wasn’t deep. By the time I turned around, she was right behind me. We hugged each other and, leaving, she said ‘I love you and will be yours forever’, my heart skipped a beat. It was the moment she said goodbye to me.”
He said she dove underwater and then reappeared, saying she was in trouble and could not get back to him.
Bertolo said: “At that time, she looked desperate and said ‘I can’t [go back]’. I went quickly towards her, put her on my back, and asked her to hold on tight. I was going to swim us back to shore, but at that moment, I think a current dragged us and I couldn’t see the beach anymore.”
He said he screamed for help and two swimmers tried to assist them, but couldn’t so they went to alert the authorities.
Meanwhile, he said he began to slip under the water at the same time as his wife.
Bertolo added: “The fourth time, I saw her eyes were glazed and her mouth was foaming. God must have given me the strength to get her body out of there otherwise I could have died with her.
“I was devastated because it felt like she died in my arms. She already seemed dead when we got to the beach.”
Firefighters on the scene did their best to save the young woman, but to no avail.
Bertolo received medical treatment and was later released.
He told G1: “She was the person who helped me most in life, an amazing woman. I understand that God chose her because she was a very good person, who helped everyone, and I think it’s time for her to rest.
“At her funeral on Tuesday, I think the whole city turned up. She was so loved.”
