A lawyer has drowned in a boat accident just hours after saying “yes” to her boyfriend’s marriage proposal.
Maria Eduarda Carvalho de Medeiros was on board the vessel with her partner and pet dog when it capsized.
The 38-year-old’s boyfriend, Seráfico Pereira Cabral Júnior, managed to reach the coast after swimming for three hours.
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The tragedy happened last Saturday (21 Jun) afternoon.
Maria Eduarda’s body was found washed up on a beach on Tuesday (24 Jun) morning.
Her dog, Belinha, is still missing.
Maria Eduarda’s cousin, Tássia Medeiros, told local media that she had announced her engagement to Seráfico from the boat.
She said: “He’d already given her an engagement ring.
“And that Saturday, he properly proposed so they could set a date. She sent the family a video – absolutely beaming.”
Seráfico, 55, who’d been driving the boat, was helped by firefighters after reaching dry land and taken to A&E.
Tássia said: “He had cuts and had injured his foot. Physically, I think he’ll be all right.
“He’s on antibiotics because of the wounds. But emotionally, he’s in pieces.
“I honestly don’t know how else to put it. We’re all heartbroken.”
The accident took place off Suape Beach, in Cabo de Santo Agostinho, south of Recife, Brazil.
Maria Eduarda’s body was found on Calhetas Beach, further up the coast.
Seráfico – a urologist – is a keen sailor and watersports enthusiast and owns a flat on Muro Alto Beach, in Ipojuca, down the coast from the Suape Port.
He and Maria Eduarda – nicknamed Duda – had been together for around six months, and they often visited the area on weekends.
In the video she sent to her family, the sea appeared calm and the weather sunny.
Tássia said: “We’ve no idea how they ended up over there, but somehow the current dragged them towards Suape, where the sea is much rougher.
“They couldn’t get out of the area. I don’t know how you handle a boat, but he tried to steer it away and couldn’t.
“At some point, they hit a rock, and that’s what capsized the boat – the sea there is really turbulent.”
After the boat capsized, Maria Eduarda and Belinha reportedly swam with Seráfico towards the shore.
But hours later, just as they were nearing dry land, a strong wave reportedly separated them.
Tássia said: “He managed to make it to the shore – badly hurt, scraped all over, already a bit dehydrated – and clung onto some rocks.”
Her cousin and Belinha were lost at sea, as reported by Need To Know.
She said: “Duda was pure light. She was like a carnival. I’d say she packed 76 years into her 38.
“She was lively, fast-paced, incredibly hardworking – a real fighter. We’ve even had calls from her clients in other states, genuinely moved.”
Maria Eduarda’s funeral was held on Tuesday (24 Jun) evening in Paulista, north of Recife.
Tássia said: “I think what’s keeping me going right now is the kindness and love we’ve had from people we’ve never even met, all the messages that keep coming in, so many stories of how she helped others, the support from her friends – it means the world.”
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