26/11/2023 – 21:53
Images of lightning striking a group of tourists on a trail in Pedra da Gávea, in Rio, last Sunday, the 19th, went viral on social media. The electrical discharge killed tour guide Leilson Souza, 36, who was accompanied by his brother and a group of tourists. This Sunday, the 26th, the Fantasticfrom TV Globo, showed interviews with some of the witnesses.
“At the time I felt a shock in my hand, but then, at the same time, he (her husband) said: ‘The guy died’”, said tourist Karlla Araújo, who filmed the guide moments before and was recording herself at the moment of the accident. “When I understood what was happening, I hung up the phone and it was complete despair,” she recalled.
Karlla’s husband, businessman Paulo Eduardo Santos reported that, before the electrical discharge, he noticed strange signs. “I also felt my finger itching a lot and, as we approached the top, we heard a noise of energy,” he said. The couple left Mato Grosso to go for a walk in Rio.
According to experts interviewed by Fantastic, before lightning strikes a location, a magnetic field is formed. The phenomenon causes sensations such as tingling and even makes your hair stand on end. As shown by the Estadãofrom 2013 to 2022, at least 835 people lost their lives to lightning in Brazil, an average of 83.5 deaths per year.
The number of deaths in Brazil is about double the number of deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and triple the number of deaths in the United States, the two countries with the most lightning strikes after Brazil. Brazil is the world champion in lightning incidence, with around 78 million lightning strikes every year, according to a study by the Atmospheric Electricity Group (Elat) of the National Institute for Space Research (Inpe).
‘He was the family’s greatest supporter’
“He was a great support of the family. He was a happy guy, who got along well with everyone,” said Leandro Barros, Leilson’s brother who was also with the group at the time of the trail. According to him, around half of the services that Leilson did as a guide were on the Pedra da Gávea trail. He was quite experienced in doing the route.
Leandro told how he reacted after his brother’s death. “I ran to the rock, checked the pulse, the heart and nothing,” he said. “I passed the rope I had under his shoulder. I asked two guys for help and said: ‘guys, we need to get my brother out of here, otherwise we won’t get down’. That moment was very difficult, because there was nothing to do.”
#felt #shock #hand #tourist #filmed #moment #guide #struck #lightning