Brazil Waterfall Deaths: Ceará Rockfall Victim Identified as Paraná Case Prompts Safety Dispute

Overview

• Maria de Jesus Rodrigues Paiva, 39, died after a rock detached at the Bica do Donato waterfall in Pires Ferreira, Ceará, following rescue and transfer to a health unit.
• Video from the scene shows friends and other visitors using an improvised stretcher to remove her from the water before official responders arrived.
• The state public security office said Military Police were called for a landslide occurrence at the site, and the case is expected to be handled by the Civil Police station in Ipu.
• In Ponta Grossa, Paraná, accountant Caio Libero Batistela, 35, fell about 40 meters at the Rio São Jorge waterfall; firefighters initially reported he was trying to take a photo.
• A family representative disputes the photo account and says he slipped on wet rocks, as local tourism bodies and park managers stress restricted areas, existing signage and shared safety responsibility while police treat the fall as accidental.