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Hero mum and boyfriend die jumping into river to save her kids being swept away by currents

2021-08-13 00:00:00.0 太阳报-世界新闻原网页

A HERO mum and boyfriend drowned after they selflessly dived into a river to rescue the woman’s two children.

Maria Arianna Christina Pereira Costa, 30, and her boyfriend Gilmar Soares de Melo, 26, died in the Parnaiba River in Maranhao, Brazil on Sunday night.

Maria Arianna Christina Pereira Costa, 30, died while saving her two children (pictured) Credit: Newsflash 2

Boyfriend Gilmar Soares also drowned after Maria came into trouble Credit: Newsflash

The pair acted after it became apparent that were having difficulty in the water and were likely to swept away by the strong currents.

After jumping in to rescue them, boyfriend Gilmar swiftly managed to pull the kids ashore to safety.

However, he had to renter the water when Maria Arianna found herself unable to get out.

A short while later, both ended up disappearing beneath the water's surface.

The fire brigade arrived on the scene immediately but were only able to start the search for the missing adults the following morning.

The next day they successfully recovered two bodies, which were identified by family members.

Neither of the two children were injured in the incident.

Tributes soon began pouring in from the local community who were quick to hail the pair as heroes.

One Facebook user said: "My God, what a tragedy! They saved the children, but then they left us.

“What a true father and mother can do for their children! May the energies of light guide their spirits to the path of light.”

“Only God knows the time and destiny of each human being.”

It comes almost a year after a wife to be lost her fiancée to a similarly tragic drowning incident in Sao Paulo last September.

Joao Guilherme Torres Fadini, 24, proposed to girlfriend Larissa Campos, 25, while they spent time with friends at the Sorocaba River, before drowning five minutes later.