Latest news with #Gabriele
The Irish Sun
4 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Mum, 24, dies in hot tub accident with entire body SCALDED when she passed out in water before waking up screaming
A MUM has tragically died after falling unconscious in a hot tub at a motel room. Gabriele Cristine Barreto de Freitas, 24, was left with 4 Gabriele was left with horrific burns all over her body Credit: Newsflash 4 The mum then woke up screaming as she saw bits of her skin hanging from her body after suffering severe burns Credit: Newsflash 4 She reportedly died from a cardiac arrest Credit: Newsflash The mum-of-one had been at the motel in Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Parana, with a man she had met at a party. She died with agonising third-degree burns after she was rushed to the hospital. The pair decided to take a hot bath together for a relaxing dip. However, things took a tragic turn when Gabriele decided to stay after her partner got out of the tub to go to bed. read more news She passed out inside the hot tub after apparently hitting her head. The mum then woke up screaming as she saw bits of her skin hanging from her body after Shocking images from an intensive care unit show her entire body wrapped up in bandages. One image showed a large strip of skin hanging from her face. Most read in The US Sun Gabriele reportedly died from a massive cardiac arrest - just six days after her family said she was recovering. Jenifer Vaniele Barreto, her sister, said: "We don't understand how Gabriele's death happened. "No one gave us any answers, they just said she had a cardiac arrest and died, that's all. The police at the Curitiba Homicide Division have now opened an investigation into the shocking death. The man she went with to the motel has not yet been interviewed by the police, according to local media reports. But the family's lawyer, Valter Ribeiro Junior, says they are demanding tests on the hot tub's thermostat to see if it was faulty. He said: "It is unacceptable that someone goes to a motel for leisure and leaves burnt to the point of dying days later. "If it happened to her, it's probably going to happen to other people. "It is possible that the equipment is not up to date and may have caused these burns." Gabriele leaves behind a five-year-old son, now being cared for by her mother. Hot tub safety tips Temperature Check: Keep the water temperature at or below 40°C (104°F) to avoid overheating. Soaking for extended periods in hotter water can lead to drowsiness, which could be dangerous. Stay Hydrated: Drink plenty of water before, during, and after using the hot tub. This helps prevent dehydration and overheating. Avoid Alcohol & Drugs: Don't use alcohol or drugs before or while using a hot tub. They can impair your judgment and increase the risk of accidents or health problems. Supervise Children: Never leave children unattended in or near a hot tub. Ensure they understand the rules and potential dangers, and that the water isn't too deep for them. 4 Gabriele leaves behind a five-year-old son, now being cared for by her mother Credit: Newsflash
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Daily Mirror
Young mum dies after passing out in hot tub and waking up to skin peeling off
Mum-of-one Gabriele Cristine Barreto de Freita, 24, died after she hit her head when jumping into a hot tub, knocking her out, only to find her skin peeling away when she woke up A young mum died with agonising third-degree burns after she fell asleep in a scalding hot tub and woke up to find her skin peeling off. Mum-of-one Gabriele Cristine Barreto de Freitas, 24, had been at the motel in Curitiba, in the Brazilian state of Parana, with a man she had met at a party. When they got to the room, they turned on the hot tub and jumped in for a soak. But when her partner got out to go to bed, Gabriele stayed behind, apparently hitting her head and passing out, reports local media. She awoke with the water still steaming and her skin gruesomely peeling away from severe burns. Harrowing images and video footage from an intensive care unit where she was rushed to on May 25 show her whole body covered in bandages. Some hard-to-look at images show hand-sized strips of skin hanging from her face. Gabriele's family said she seemed to be recovering, but just six days later, local media reported on 5th June, she suffered a massive cardiac arrest. Her sister, Jenifer Vaniele Barreto, explained: "They arrived at the motel and he turned on the tub to a hot temperature. "The two went to shower, took a bath and he left first and went to bed. He heard her fall and slip in the tub." She added: "We don't understand how Gabriele's death happened. No one gave us any answers, they just said she had a cardiac arrest and died, that's all." The police at the Curitiba Homicide Division have opened an investigation into the baffling death. The man she went with to the motel has not yet been interviewed by the police, according to local media reports. But the family's lawyer Valter Ribeiro Junior says they are demanding tests on the hot tub's thermostat to see if it was faulty. He said: "It is unacceptable that someone goes to a motel for leisure and leaves burnt to the point of dying days later. "If it happened to her, it's probably going to happen to other people. It is possible that the equipment is not up to date and may have caused these burns." Gabriele leaves behind a five-year-old son, now being cared for by her mother.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- New York Times
Help! A Cruise Line Charged Us $800 for a Day Trip We Didn't Take.
In early January, my partner and I took a Holland America Line cruise in Baja California, Mexico. Months earlier, we had put our names on a waiting list for a $400-a-person whale-watching shore excursion that was scheduled for the fourth day of the cruise. Holland America confirmed our spot on the waiting list and told us that if spots opened up, it would notify us by email 'on how to complete the purchase,' giving us 72 hours to do so. As the sailing date approached, we gave up hope and arranged a whale-watching trip on our own. But a couple of days into the cruise, we noticed that our credit cards had been charged $800 total when we boarded. We then found a note at our stateroom door (along with various announcements and coupons) explaining we had been booked on the excursion and instructing us to call or visit the shore excursion desk if we had made other arrangements. We went immediately, but the desk was closed. We returned the next morning, only to be told we had apparently missed a 48-hour post-purchase deadline to cancel. But the notice did not mention any deadline — and more outrageously, we had never agreed to the purchase in the first place! Appealing to the manager did not help, nor did a 53-minute call to guest relations after the cruise. Can you help? Gabriele, Oxnard, Calif. I took a look at Holland America's 'Know Before You Go' page to see whether there was any related policy you should have, well, known before you went. There was a lot to take in: You can bring up to six liters of water on board with you, but no soda or energy drinks. Distressed jeans are not permitted in table-service restaurants. And more relevant, passengers are required to create an account to use for onboard purchases, and it will be charged automatically for a daily 'crew appreciation gratuity' as well as for 18 percent tips on food, drink and spa purchases. There's no mention of charging your account for shore excursions without your approval, so I understand your exasperation. But after hearing from Holland America and a cruise expert, I'd say the greater offense was the shore excursion manager's refusal to back down by stretching the deadline a few hours — especially considering it was a deadline you had not been informed of, applied to a purchase you did not explicitly authorize. Holland America quickly admitted fault on this last point and has now refunded you each $400. Guests who choose not to take an excursion in this situation are owed full refunds, and that should have happened when you made the request, said Jeanine Takala, a spokeswoman for the company, via email. 'This was our error, and we apologize for the mistake,' she added. Ms. Takala explained that your card was charged because once passengers board the ship, the cruise line uses a different system: charging them and then notifying them through the onboard Navigator app and stateroom letters, and in some cases by trying to call them, giving them a chance to cancel. But the cruise line has now changed its policy, she wrote in a follow-up email. As of this week, when excursion spots open up after the ship has set sail, wait-listed passengers will be notified and given a short period (often 24 hours, depending on when the excursion is scheduled) in which to accept the spot, or they lose it and won't be charged. Of course, that would still require passengers to pay close attention to their onboard and online correspondence. In your case, this communication system broke down, though who's at fault for that gets a bit foggy. You later told me that you elected not to use the Navigator app. But your partner did, and did not receive (or recall receiving) a notification and did not see that the excursion had been added to your schedule. You also said in your initial email that you two did not carefully go through the mail delivered to your stateroom, noting that it included coupons and other being a cruise fanatic myself, I spoke with Chris Gray Faust, U.S. executive editor of the cruise news site Cruise Critic, via video call from — where else? — her stateroom aboard a cruise ship. She was surprised, and maybe a little appalled, that the manager you spoke to on board hadn't given you an immediate refund. She was even more baffled that your post-cruise follow-up phone call hadn't resolved the problem. But she was far less bothered by Holland America's former system of automatically placing wait-listed passengers on shore excursions — and charging their credit cards — when spots opened up, since a system that waited for people to opt in might leave empty spots and disappointed customers. 'They're trying to make everybody happy,' she said. 'So they think the way to make the person happy is to say, 'Hey, we got this slot. We're going to put you in it.'' She noted that such a policy serves the cruise line's interest, too: It has already committed to pay the contractor organizing the excursion, so it needs to fill the spots. (The new system might end up leaving more spots empty.) Of course, she said, a cruise line should make an effort to explain the process to wait-listed customers, alerting them to look out for notices at their door and on the app. But passengers on any cruise line should also remove themselves from the waiting list once they have made alternative plans, both to protect themselves and to speed the process for others. Sounds reasonable. In an odd twist that sure makes it seem to me as if members of the shore excursion staff weren't at the top of their game, you told me that they repeatedly offered you a printed letter titled 'For Insurance Purposes' verifying that you had not participated in the excursion but had paid. (You said you did not even have a travel insurance policy.) That was inappropriate, wrote Ms. Takala. Those letters are meant to help in 'situations where an unforeseen event has disrupted the guest's trip' and might prompt reimbursement from a travel insurance provider. Alas, the unforeseen event in this case — a cruise line making a surprise charge on your credit card — would almost certainly never be covered. Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2025.
Wall Street Journal
04-04-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
House of the Week: A Wooden Castle in Canada's Great Bear Rainforest
Wolfgang von der Burg, his wife, Gabriele, and son, Philip, were looking for a place where they could all live together when they found 130 acres of land on a peninsula in British Columbia. Over the next 14 years, they built a luxury resort with a handcrafted wooden castle made from hand-selected old-growth red and yellow cedar logs, while also installing power and water. Philip, 40, had been organizing shows and theater events when the family decided to purchase the property in Terrace, which is roughly 824 miles northwest of Vancouver. They were drawn to its natural beauty, says Wolfgang, a medical director and medical scientist, as well as the crystal clear waters of the Skeena River, which winds around the peninsula and is known for salmon and steelhead fishing. They paid $1 million CAN for the land, and built a small cabin on it in 2011. They then spent the next decade and a total of $16.5 million CAN constructing the main house. The Twisted Carrot Entrance, as the owners call it, features three giant twisted Red Cedar trees and a large, straight tree. There are Brazilian Blue Azul granite slab and Black Galaxy granite tile floors throughout and an 11th-century stone fireplace. A forked owl tree with an abandoned owl's nest and an owl carving supports the staircase to the upper living section. The von der Burgs live in the house full time and also use it as a hotel in order to qualify under the province's Entrepreneur Immigration program, which grants residency to international entrepreneurs who set up businesses within British Columbia. They named their estate Little Wolf Resort, charging $850 CAN a night. They are selling the property as a private residence, but it could also be operated as a hotel. While Canada has a ban on foreign ownership of residential property, this property is a hotel so it's exempt from the ban. Americans can buy it, live there and use it as a commercial venture, says Annette Cosens, a real-estate agent at Sotheby's International Realty Canada in Kelowna, British Columbia. Cosens, who has the listing, says she's had a lot of interest from U.S. buyers. 'I think it's the escape value,' she says. Running a hotel has turned out to be more work than they expected, and they want to move on to do other things, says Wolfgang, 78. 'It's a demanding business,' he says. He and Gabriele, 74, want to travel more around the world, while Philip, who isn't married, is interested in returning to working in arts administration, either in Los Angeles or Vancouver. In Terrace, there were 274 properties sold in 2024 worth $120.1 CAN million compared with 2023's 271 properties worth $116.2 million CAN, according to the BC Northern Real Estate Board. Of the 140 single-family homes that changed hands, half sold for less than $519,500 CAN. In addition, 16 parcels of vacant land, 27 homes on acreage, 25 manufactured homes in parks and 17 manufactured homes on land sold in 2024. As of December 31st, there were 121 properties of all types available in the Terrace area, down from the 137 properties available at December 31, 2023. Write to Nancy Keates at
