A three-year-old girl died in a house fire after her mum made the heartbreaking decision to grab her younger sister first.
Maitê Fernandes was sleeping when the blaze started in the early hours of Sunday (11 Feb).
Mum, Marta Fernandes said there was a loud blast that jolted her awake.
She grabbed her youngest daughter sleeping next to her in the bed and took her out of the house.
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She placed her on the pavement and turned around to fetch Maitê.
But by this point, the blaze stopped her from going back into the house.
Neighbours eventually managed to rescue little Maitê from the inferno in Macaé, northeast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
They rushed her to a local hospital in critical condition.
She was taken to the operating room with burns to 95 per cent of her body.
She was later admitted to the paediatric ICU, where she bravely battled for her life for hours.
Sadly, she ended up dying from her injuries around 6 pm.
Her body was examined and released for burial on Monday (12 Feb).
The police are awaiting the autopsy report as they investigate the case.
It is currently believed the blaze was caused by a short circuit in a fan.
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