Grandfather helps save his buried grandson and finds the other’s body after the flood in ES: ‘He’s not alive, but he’s with God’ Grandfather helps save his buried grandson and finds the other’s body after the flood in ES: ‘It wasn’t fair for them to be under of rubble’ Grandfather helps save buried grandson and finds bodies of another and daughter-in-law after flood in ES: ‘It wasn’t fair for them to stay under the rubble’ | South of ES

“He is not alive, but he is with God”, these are the words of a grandfather after finding the body of his 6-year-old grandson amid the destruction caused by heavy rain in Mimoso do Sul, in the south of Espírito Santo. José Maria de Souza, 57, also helped firefighters find his daughter-in-law’s body and rescue his 33-year-old son and another younger grandson, just two years old, alive on Friday night (22), when the city was hit by a storm.

As of 5pm this Tuesday (26), according to the state Civil Defense, at least 20 people had died and three were still missing after heavy rains, floods and a trail of destruction in cities in the Southern Region of Espírito Santo. In the state, 19,674 were homeless and 510 were homeless.

The family home was in the Reserva neighborhood, a district of Mimoso, one of the cities most affected and destroyed by the force of water.

According to the grandfather, he and neighbors helped find his son Josélio, 33 years old, and grandson Breno, 2 years old, amid the mud and debris of the destroyed house. The rescues took place in the early hours of Saturday. But the daughter-in-law and six-year-old grandson were not located at that time. José Maria then remained in the region, searching, until he found the two, unfortunately dead.

The grandfather helped the Fire Department as best he could to find the body of his daughter-in-law, on Saturday (23), and that of his grandson Leonardo, aged 6, this Monday (25).

José Maria reported that he walked through the mud, injured himself with a nail, excavated the place and spent nights and early mornings with the intention of finding his buried relatives.

The dead teacher’s mother, Maria da Graça Soares, said that her daughter’s father-in-law was tireless.

“He has high blood pressure and other health problems, but he only rested when he rescued his grandson. I’m grateful to this father-in-law, father and grandfather.” He went there after he found out about what happened in his eagerness to help, he only left after they removed our grandson’s body. He even helped save his son and another younger grandson. Which was a miracle”, reported Maria da Graça.

José Maria de Souza sent audio to Maria da Graça recounting the moments of anguish he went through to find his family alive or dead.

“For my son and for that woman, who God took, I would do it, I had strength. Look, I’m not in good health. I stayed all day, I didn’t even drink water. I’m broken, I’m sick, I’m tired. The My muscles all hurt, I can’t walk”, reported the grandfather.

José Maria said that when the house collapsed, he went to the scene and helped locate his son and youngest grandson. He said he stayed all night until his daughter-in-law’s body was located on Saturday morning.

“What I did in life I would do at this time too. She (daughter-in-law) is someone I really liked. I faced mud above my knees, I stayed there all day digging. But God gave me the strength to achieve it, because what I wanted It was like seeing that they were both alive”, said José Maria.

On Tuesday morning, the body of grandson Leonardo, aged 6, was found and his grandfather watched everything closely.

“I can’t stand digging all day, but my presence and the little bit of strength I could exert, I was there with him the whole time. And I told the sergeant: ‘I’ll only leave after I see my grandson’. I wanted to meet them to hold a wake. My effort was my obligation, it was my blood that was there under the ground”remembered.

The grandfather reported that he stayed at the scene following the firefighters’ work from Saturday morning until this Monday, and helped in whatever way he could.

“I thought it wasn’t fair for the two of them to stay there under the rubble.. Until midnight, one o’clock in the morning, the firefighters couldn’t see, it was raining and they didn’t know the right location. I didn’t have the strength to work, but God gave me the strength to stand there together and do something“, recalled the grandfather.

A cousin of the family spoke to the g1 and said that Adair was already buried in the city cemetery, in Mimoso do Sul.

Until the last update of this report, little Fernando’s body remained in the Legal Medical Service (SML) of Cachoeiro de Itapemirim.

Her husband, Josélio, remains hospitalized with serious injuries in Cachoeiro de Itapemirim. Little Breno, the couple’s youngest son, had minor injuries and is with his maternal grandmother.

The family had lived in the neighborhood, which is in a rural area, for five years. According to family members, Adair’s body was washed away by the rain.