A four-year-old girl buried in a landslide in the Brazilian city of Petropolis, in the mountainous region of Rio, was rescued from the rubble of her own home on Saturday with only a few scratches after more than 15 hours. De Janeiro was saved only by the sensitivity of the watchdog that found it or the heroic insistence of the firefighters, who did not use their hands to dig and cause another collapse, but, mainly, because of the courage and love of the father. He used his own body to protect little Ayla from collapse, who died in his last gesture of selflessness, but his sacrifice saved his daughter's life as he wished.
Family members said Douglas José da Silva Sousa, who was 25 years old after the tragedy, felt his house collapse and be buried by tons of soil, rocks and trees that came down from the Alto da Independencia mountain. In the neighborhood, he thought to save at least his daughter and acted quickly. As he sat on a chair in the living room, realizing the sadness, he grabbed Ayla, held her tight, and protected her with his body.
On Saturday morning, rescue teams were able to reach the rubble-strewn hilltop where the father and daughter were, and three more family members dead, Douglas still in the same position, sitting in his chair. Below him. , in a small place she survived for so long thanks to the sacrifice of her young father.
Seeing this moving scene, the young man, family members and rescue workers believe that he must have survived when he used his body and a chair as a barrier to stop the woman, who dragged her home and buried her in the hillside. Hit by debris. A great effort by Douglas kept the avalanche behind Ayla without hitting her, and she must have endured it for so long that when she finally left, the earth above them had already stabilized and was no longer encroaching on the girl's spot.