Two influencers have died after refusing to wear life jackets on a boat that sank off the coast of Brazil. Police say the reason they refused was to avoid a bad tan in the photos.
Aline Tamare Moreire of Amorim, 37, and Beatrice Tavares da Silva Faria, 27, ignored calls to put on life jackets. It happened when a boat full of people returning from a yacht party capsized in the turbulent waters of the Devil’s Throat on the Iguazú River, according to local reports.
“Some didn’t want to put on the vests because they were taking selfies,” police commissioner Marcos Alexandra Alfino said, citing the ship’s captain’s testimony.
Police said the influencers refused to wear the vests because they would ruin their photos. “They said the vests interfered with their tan,” the commissioner added.
The two victims boarded a boat with four other influencers after a party on a luxury yacht off the coast of Sao Paulo on September 29, according to local media. The ship’s captain told police he was ordered to transport six influential people, although the ship could not carry more than five passengers. This caused the ship to become unstable and unable to cope with the strong waves, which swamped the ship and threw the passengers into turbulent waters.
The captain told police he was desperate to save his passengers. However, two victims refused to wear the vests, believing they would damage their photos and tans, according to local media reports.
Faria’s body was found by Brazilian maritime firefighters after he was left adrift at sea, police said. Amorim’s body was found on the shores of Itakitanduwa beach a week later.
She posted photos on social media showing her on a luxury yacht moments before her death.
“All of this is being carefully reviewed to determine whether the deaths occurred due to frivolity or negligence,” Alphinaud explained, according to local sources.
Vanessa Audrey da Silva, one of the survivors, said she panicked and put on her life jacket and clung to a rock as the boat sank into the water. “There was a time in the water where no one could see anything,” he said. “I fought for my life.”
Cursor previously wrote that a passenger died after a large wave hit the cruise ship.
