A Brazilian beauty queen and young mother died after being struck by lightning in her mother’s garden during a storm on Saturday.
Ana Beatriz Araújo Ferreira, 22, was combing her niece’s hair in an outdoor bathtub on her mother’s property when she was zapped in a split second, seemingly out of nowhere, according to the Daily Mail.
“The day was cloudy with a very calm drizzle,” his brother, César Augusto, told CNN Brazil.
“She was combing my niece’s hair when the bolt hit,” said her sister, Lana Letícia.
The rodeo queen, also nicknamed “Aninha,” had just finished bathing her 5-year-old son and was brushing Augusto’s daughter’s hair when the lightning struck her.
She was rushed to a nearby hospital in Almas, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Augusto remembers his sister as someone who loved helping others in simple ways, saying she died “doing what she loved most, showing her love through something simple.”
“Aninha is and was one of the most beautiful people I have ever known,” he added.
“Thank you for these 22 years,” he said of Ferreira in an Instagram post.
“For existing. For teaching us so much in such a short time. You are not really gone. You live in your son, in our story and in a love that will never end.”
Ferreira was a student at Unopar University, where she balanced her physiotherapy studies with caring for her young son, Luiz Henrique, according to CNN Brasil.
She was recently crowned rodeo queen at ExpoAlmas, an annual agriculture and livestock fair in central Brazil.
ExpoAlmas mourned her alongside members of her family.
“Her passing leaves a great void among the family, friends and entire community who had the privilege of knowing her,” organizers said in a statement.
“In this moment of mourning, we stand in solidarity with (his) family and friends, wishing them strength and comfort to cope with (this) irreparable loss.”
Gn world
