Couple and baby killed in beach cliff collapse in Brazil

A mum tried desperately to shield her baby as she and her partner were buried alive when a cliff collapsed at a popular beach.

Hugo Pereira, Stella Souza and their seven-month-old son died in a cliff collapse at a beach in Brazil. Picture: Newsflash/australscope

A couple and their seven-month-old son have been crushed to death by a collapsing cliff as the mum desperately tried to shield her baby.

Tragically, the child was rescued alive but died shortly afterwards from injuries sustained during the coastal landslide in Brazil.

The accident happened as Hugo Pereira, 32, and his partner Stella Souza, 33, were visiting Pipa beach, a popular tourist destination.

Witnesses said the family was sitting near the base of the cliff in the northern state of Rio Grande do Norte on Tuesday, November 17, when rocks collapsed on top of them.

The family’s dog, Brisa, also died in the horrific accident.

Hugo Pereira, Stella Souza and their seven-month-old son died in a cliff collapse at a beach in Brazil. Picture: Newsflash/australscope

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Local resident Igor Caetano said he saw the tragedy and tried to help the victims.

“We dug until we found the father, and then we found the mother and child,” he told Brazilian news site G1.

“She was hugging (the baby). It appears she instinctively tried to protect her son.

“The adults’ injuries were very severe because they took the brunt of the collapse.”

Mr Caetano, a nautical engineer, said the boy was found breathing and a doctor in the vicinity “tried to revive the child”.

“But he couldn’t be saved,” he said.

The scene of the tragedy. Picture: Newsflash/australscope

Videos taken moments after the cliff collapse show dozens of people on the beach frantically digging with their bare hands and using wooden sticks to try to rescue the victims.

Parts of the cliff are more than 60m high.

João Marinho, Stella’s cousin, said the family was dead by the time rescuers arrived on the scene.

“I’m born and raised here and this has always happened because the sea is gradually destroying the cliff more and more,” Mr Marinho, a fisherman, said.

“When we see tourists sitting in the shadow of the cliffs, we warn them to leave because we know about the risk.”

Shocked witnesses said Mr Pereira was well known to residents. He had settled down in the area to start a family and worked as a hotel manager close to the beach.

The family was killed at a popular beach in Rio Grande do Norte state. (@hugo.mendespereira/Newsflash) Picture: Newsflash/australscope

Prior to putting down roots, the father-of-one had spent 2017 travelling Brazil in a campervan with his dog.

Pedro Holanda, manager of the hotel where Mr Pereira worked, told G1 he was “a special soul”.

“Hugo was a spectacular human being, always with a smile on his face, high spirits, he was very happy to be a father,” Mr Holanda said.

“He was a family guy – he loved animals and nature. We are dismayed, and don’t understand why all this is happening.”

Minister of Tourism, Marcelo Álvaro Antônio, expressed his condolences to relatives and friends of the victims.

Brazil’s Minister of Tourism tweeted his condolences.

“I deeply regret the accident that happened on the beach of Pipa, in Rio Grande do Norte,” he tweeted.

“My condolences to the family and friends of the three victims of this tragedy.”

Signs near the cliff base warning of the dangers of landslides are constantly washed away by high tide, council officials told reporters.

Communications officer for Tibau do Sul city, Fábio Pinheiro said: “As the tides fill and hit the cliff, its base is being eroded, which makes the upper part more vulnerable to collapse.

“It is not uncommon for part of the rock wall to come loose.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission