A dad died a hero after telling his daughter how to save herself after their car plunged into a reservoir.
John Vernek Figueira and his 12-year-old daughter were driving home along a country road.
It’s suspected that the accident happened after Figueira, 33, lost control of the vehicle.
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Both dad and daughter were able to get themselves out of the car after it hit the water.
Figueira instructed his daughter to swim to the shore of the reservoir.
He swam behind her, but while she was able to get to dry land, he sank and failed to resurface.
The girl bravely walked more than three kilometres (1.9 mi) from the scene in Roncador, Brazil, in search of help.
After walking along the rural road in the dark, she finally found help.
The fire brigade was called at around 8pm on Friday (Nov 29) night and firefighters went to the scene to search for Figueira.
Tragically, his body was found at around 2:15am the next morning on Saturday (Nov 30).
Figueira leaves behind a wife, two daughters, a son, and a stepson.
He was laid to rest in Roncador on Sunday (Dec 1), as reported by Need To Know.
An obituary said he was “widely known, respected, and admired for his friendship and charisma”.
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