Latest news with #Niteroi


The Sun
11-08-2025
- General
- The Sun
Parents both die in tandem paraglider crash leaving daughter, 3, orphaned after dad had ‘bought aircraft two weeks ago'
A THREE-year-old has been left orphaned after a paraglider carrying her parents crashed during a tandem flight. Paragliding and scuba instructor Luan Calor Cannelas Gomes da Silva, 29, and his ex-partner Vanessa do Nascimento Alves, died after the tragic accident in Brazil. 3 3 The pair were paragliding in Niteroi City Park, which overlooks Guanabara Bay in the Atlantic Ocean, on August 8. The former couple were separated but had a three-year-old daughter together. They were reportedly on good terms, and Luan had invited her to join him for the flight. Footage taken after the crash showed rescue teams searching steep, wooded terrain for the victims. Firefighters were seen moving carefully over the hillside as a helicopter hovered overhead. The Rio de Janeiro State Military Fire Department said they were called at 12:57pm and an ambulance was sent to Charitas Beach. Both parents were tragically pronounced dead at the scene. Five days earlier, Luan had posted images of himself making the same jump from the Niteroi City Park ramps with at least two other people. Friends described him as a careful and cautious pilot who avoided flying in poor conditions. Following the accident, all activities on paragliding ramps in the local area were suspended. Roads to the launch site were closed and signs were put up reminding visitors to hire pilots accredited by authorities. Cops are still probing the circumstances of the accident. It comes after a Brit tourist died in a horror paragliding crash in Turkey after his parachute failed in April. The 22-year-old man leapt from a 6,500ft cliff at the famous Babadag spot in Oludeniz with a pilot, who also died. .


Daily Mail
11-08-2025
- Daily Mail
Parents die in tandem paraglider crash, leaving three-year-old girl orphaned
A three-year-old has been left orphaned after a paraglider carrying her parents crashed during a tandem flight. The accident took place in Niteroi City Park, which overlooks Brazil 's spectacular Guanabara Bay of the Atlantic Ocean, on the afternoon of August 8. The two who died were identified as paragliding and scuba instructor Luan Calor Cannelas Gomes da Silva, 29, and his ex-partner Vanessa do Nascimento Alves. Although separated, the former couple had a three-year-old daughter together and remained on good terms, with Luan inviting her to join him for the fatal flight. Footage taken after the crash shows rescue teams searching steep, wooded terrain for the victims. Firefighters can be seen moving carefully over the hillside as a helicopter hovers overhead. The Rio de Janeiro State Military Fire Department said they were called at 12.57pm and positioned an ambulance at Charitas Beach. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene and their bodies were taken to the Forensic Medical Institute. Five days earlier, Luan had posted images of himself making the same jump from the Niteroi City Park ramps with at least two other people. Friends described him as a careful and cautious pilot who avoided flying in poor conditions. Following the accident, the Niteroi Public Order Secretariat suspended all activities on the paragliding ramps. Roads to the launch site were closed and signs were put up reminding visitors to hire pilots accredited by the relevant authorities. Oversight of free flight activities in the area is the responsibility of the National Civil Aviation Agency and the Air Force. The incident is under investigation.


The Independent
26-06-2025
- Health
- The Independent
A group of Brazilian women battling cancer find new hope thanks to Va'a canoeing
When breast cancer turned her life upside down, Anna Lucia Amorim, a 63-year-old Brazilian from Rio de Janeiro state, fell into a deep depression sometimes struggling to get out of bed. But everything changed, she said, after she started practicing Va'a canoeing in Niteroi, a city facing Rio across Guanabara Bay, with other women who have battled cancer or were undergoing treatment. 'Every time you put the paddle in the water, it's like a new life,' she told The Associated Press on Thursday. 'When you are there, you forget everything. You only see the sea and the sky.' Amorim is part of Va'a Roses, a group of cancer patients and survivors between the ages of 52 and 70 who partake in local and national competitions of Va'a canoeing. Originating in the Pacific region, Va'a canoes — which traditionally have outriggers and can be single or double-hull — are now popular worldwide. In Niteroi, the Va'a Roses train twice weekly just after 7 a.m., departing from the sheltered Charitas Beach surrounded by harbors and sloping mountains, from which one can spot the famed Christ the Redeemer statue. Guanabara Bay has a reputation for being polluted by garbage and sewage, but members of the Va'a Roses say they regularly see turtles, rays and other fish — even dolphins. 'You wouldn't think that Guanabara Bay has so much life,' said Flavia Bichara, a 52-year-old lawyer who is currently undergoing chemotherapy for lung cancer. She said the hope of spotting a turtle and watching the sun rise gives her ample motivation to get out of bed early. 'The sunrise, for us, symbolizes coming back to life," she said. Polynesian canoeing and water sports in general have become increasingly popular in Niteroi over the last few years, said Isabel Swan, the municipality's deputy mayor who has an Olympic bronze medal in sailing. The number of Polynesian canoeing clubs in the area has jumped from five to around 40 in the last decade. 'This boom occurred during the Covid-19 pandemic, because people can practice water sports while complying with social distancing rules,' she said. In August, Niteroi will host the Va'a long distance world championship in which around a thousand athletes from 30 countries will compete. And alongside Rio, the city is a candidate to host the 2031 Pan American Games. Estella Tourl, 68, was diagnosed with breast cancer four years ago. As well as the stunning setting, she says she loves the social aspect of the activity. 'We're in nature, we exercise and we talk. Afterward everyone sits together, we have coffee and laugh. It's stimulating – we want to live,' Tourl said.