A pregnant teenager, a seven-year-old girl and eight other female passengers were killed when a tourist bus overturned.
The bus crashed at km 91 of the BR-040 highway on the descent from Petrópolis, Brazil, at around 4.30am on Sunday (16 August).
A 25-year-old passenger, who asked not to be identified, told local media: “I hugged my fiancé and said we were going to die.
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“The bus started swaying violently.
“On the descent, it overturned, hit a tree and the tree entered the bus.”
She also revealed that “many of the seatbelts” were “not working”.
Fifty-six people, including the driver and two assistants, were on board the bus, which had left Belo Horizonte bound for Rio de Janeiro.
Ketelyn Poliana Alves Oliveira Sales, who was four months pregnant, was travelling with her husband, Gabriel Bernardes.
Gabriel, who suffered minor injuries, told local media: “I was on the second floor of the bus.
“He was travelling at high speed, speeding around the bends. I was scared.
“Some female passengers asked him to stop the bus.
“But then he lost control of the vehicle.”
Both Ketelyn, 19, and her unborn baby were killed in the crash.
Seven-year-old Lavínia Eduarda Souza Dias and her aunt, 33-year-old Priscilla de Souza Braz, also died in the crash.
Lavínia’s mother, Maria Luiza Pereira de Souza, told local media: “It would have been my daughter’s first time at the beach.
“It was her dream.
“Lavínia kept saying, ‘Come on, Mum, please let me go and see the beach.’”
Maria Luiza, 27, said she had repeatedly warned the tour guide, identified as Caio, about the speed of the bus.
The mother of four said: “I had been warning them for a while, the bus was swaying from side to side.
“I went over to the guide and said: ‘Ask the driver to slow down because I have an autistic daughter and she’s scared’.’”
However, the guide allegedly replied that the swaying was normal and that they needed to arrive early in Rio so they could watch the sunrise.
As the vehicle began to overturn, Maria Luiza’s sister, Priscilla, shouted: “Hold on to the baby, Luiza, don’t let go.”
Maria Luiza managed to protect her one-year-old daughter, who was in her arms, and suffered only minor scrapes.
Her 10-year-old son was uninjured.
However, tragedy struck Lavínia and Priscilla.
“They both suffered traumatic brain injuries,” Maria Luiza said.
“They died hugging each other.
“It was the driver’s fault because we kept asking him not to drive so fast.”
Maria Luiza’s aunt remains in a serious condition in hospital with fractured ribs, as reported by NeedToKnow.
The remaining victims have been identified as Jhennifer Ferreira Carvalho, 33; her mother, Luciana Ferreira Carvalho, 53; Keyla Perucci da Silva, 35; Natália Fimiano de Barros, 34; Dayanna de Lima Viana, 36; Vania Elida de Jesus Crispim, 33; and Alessandra Pereira, 34.
Nine of the 10 victims died at the scene.
Alessandra was rescued alive but later died in hospital.
More than 20 other people were injured and required medical attention.
According to the concessionaire responsible for the highway, the section where the bus overturned was undergoing paving work but was properly signposted.
Police are investigating the crash.
The driver, who suffered fractures to both legs, is expected to be questioned.
The bus was identified as belonging to Estrela Guia Turismo, which was reportedly not authorised to carry out interstate passenger transport.
Estrela Guia said in a statement: “The company has been fully cooperating with the authorities responsible for investigating the facts and taking all necessary measures to assist the victims and their families.”
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