A toddler was found dead after drowning in a 23 inch-deep muddy puddle in the Brazilian state of Parana, following a period of unusually heavy rain which created a hole in his play area
A three-year-old boy has died after drowning in a muddy puddle.
Little Joaquim Gualter Ferreira Pereira Nunes was found in a muddy hole earlier this month, after drowning in just 60cm of water. He was playing outside in Loanda, Brazil, after a period of heavy rain in an area he wasn’t overly familiar with, police said.
His heartbroken mum first raised the alarm at about 11.30am on July 4, after she couldn’t find him. His lifeless body was eventually found after hours of searching.
He was found in a muddy hole that was a little more than 23 inches deep. It’s believed the hole was created after the persistent rain.
Local parents were urged to be aware of their childrens’ location after the extreme weather – particularly in high risk areas where holes could develop.
Meanwhile, a 12-year-old boy slipped in a puddle and lost his balance by the edge of a cliff before he plunged to his death in July last year. Young Zhihan Zhao set out on a walk with his mum, Xianhong Huang, and friends on the Cliffs of Moher trail, in the Republic of Ireland, but the stroll turned fatal.
The mum said her son was walking ahead of her on the trail when she lost sight of him. She told how they started walking from the Nagle’s car park in Liscannor, and said: “My son walked very fast and was ahead of us by 50 metres. As there was only one path I thought we would meet him along the way. When I didn’t I walked to the visitor centre and I checked the visitor centre.”
When she couldn’t find him the mum walked back along the path then reported her boy missing. Speaking through an interpreter at the inquest in Kildare, Huang cried and asked: “What exactly caused Zhihan to fall from the Cliffs?”
A French tourist later described the moment she saw the 12-year-old plunge to his death while taking a family photo. She said: “I saw him slipping in the puddle that appears in the photo that my husband sent to the police. His right foot slipped into the puddle with him trying to stop himself from falling with his left foot but his left foot ended up in the air.
“It was very quick – he found himself in an awkward position with his left foot in a void over the cliff and his right knee on the edge of the cliff. His right knee eventually fell into the void over the cliff and he was trying to grasp the grass with his hands to pull himself up. He didn’t shout and there was no noise.”
Police officer Colm Collins said he received a call that day at 2pm to attend the Cliffs of Moher after a male was seen falling off. He added that the Irish Coastguard had spotted a body floating in the water at the bottom of the cliffs.