A lucky-to-be-alive woman survived three minutes underwater after falling down an open drain on a flooded street.
CCTV footage shows Maria Adriana Lima walking carefully along the pavement with murky water up to her knees.
But in a split second, she suddenly drops to the ground – her umbrella left floating on the water’s surface.
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About three tense minutes go by, without any sign of movement before Maria, 45, suddenly pops up for air.
As she remains submerged nearly up to her chest, a passing biker parks his motorcycle and runs over to assist her.
He and another good Samaritan are eventually able to help Maria to her feet and she walks away.
The drama unfolded as she walked to her son’s school in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, northeast of Brasila, Brazil.
The stay-at-home mum later recalled how she’d had to swim against the current to save herself.
She told local media: “I was born again because what I went through in there was my worst nightmare, something I never imagined I’d experience.
“I was in that hole, submerged in that filthy water, swimming without any clue what I was doing.”
Maria went on: “When I put my foot down, I couldn’t see anything after that.
“I just saw myself with my eyes closed, swimming inside, trying to get out, completely confused.
“I kept saying to Jesus, ‘I’m going to die here now, I’m going to lose my life, they’ll find my body the next day – if they even find it.’”
But during her moments of panic, Lima realised there was an air pocket inside the drain.
She managed to stand on a higher surface where the water reached her neck.
She tried using her phone, but it didn’t work.
She then realised she’d have to fully submerge herself again to escape.
Maria recalled: “I said, ‘God, You’ve already pulled me out of worse situations, and I’m getting out of this one, too.’
“So I put my phone back and thought, ‘Now, I’m risking it all.’
“That’s when I dived back in, gave it everything I had while swimming, and felt like something was supporting my hand and holding it.
“I just felt something telling me, ‘Push your legs out,’ so I leant and pushed.”
Maria spent the next day with a fever and it took her a while to fully regain her strength, as reported by Need To Know.
The local authorities said last week that the area had been cordoned off and that the hole would be covered by this week.
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