Yahoo Finance Chilling last photo before two friends die in waterfall tragedy
Two teenagers have died after falling 30 metres from the top of a popular waterfall moments after a friend took a photo of them on the cliff’s edge.
Bruna Vellasquez, 18, and Monique Medeiros, 19, fell from the Cachoeira do Salto Caveiras waterfall in Lages, Brazil, on Sunday (local time), local news outlet Epoca reported.
Local outlet O Municipio said the women fell from the edge onto rocks below as large crowds flocked to waterfalls as temperatures soared beyond 30C.
One of the women slipped while the other unsuccessfully tried to help, according to police.
Ms Vellasquez was pronounced dead at the scene while Ms Medeiros died in hospital after sustaining serious head injuries.
Ms Medeiros’s mother Jurceli Almeida told Epoca they were in a group of four, with one male companion warning them of the dangers near the cliff’s edge.
"This boy who was there said that they were right on the edge to take the photo. When they were coming back, Bruna slipped on a rock, Monique went to hold and the two fell together. My daughter tried to pull her friend back, but couldn't take the weight,” Ms Almeida said.
She said another friend took their photo while they posed on the edge.
The photo, which shows the women looking out over the cliff, was posted to social media and has since been shared by Epoca. Another photo shows them en route to the waterfall.
The mother said her daughter had told her she was going to a friend’s house and if she’d known where she was intending to go, she wouldn’t have allowed her.
Ms Medeiros was studying to be a nurse.
"When [her friend] said that she had fallen in the waterfall, I went into despair. My daughter was an angel in my life,” Ms Almeida said.
Police say investigations into their deaths are ongoing.
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