Beauty queen, 27, dies after jumping from balcony to escape fire
A beauty queen has died after jumping from the balcony of her sixth-floor apartment to escape a fire.
Mayara Nitão, better known as Maya, was rushed to hospital but could not be saved after the tragedy happened in Sao Paolo, Brazil, on Saturday.
The 27-year-old – a model and influencer with almost 100,000 Instagram followers – had won nine beauty pageant titles since 2019, including being crowned Miss Sertão Paraibano in January.
Her brother, 23, who lived in the same flat, was hospitalised with smoke inhalation but is said to be in a stable condition.
He learned of his sister’s death 24 hours after the fire.
Their parents flew from Paraíba State to São Paulo to tell him of Maya’s death in person.
Paying tribute to Maya, their father, César Nitão, said: ‘The love of my life is now a star in the sky.
‘I love you forever my daughter.’
‘As grandma used to say, “my beautiful baby”‘.
Maya will be buried in João Pessoa, Paraíba State, her father added.
Fourteen fire engines with 40 firefighters were deployed to tackle the blaze, in the district of Itaim Bibi.
An investigation is ongoing.
Fire brigade spokesperson Captain Felipe Félis dos Santos said: ‘It started inside.
‘We have no information about the cause yet, however it did not spread to other apartments.’
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