Pedro Scooby’s team reports that residents are prevented from accepting ransom by faction

Below are reports of criminals preventing rescue work in several areas affected by floods in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre. One of the surfers who is part of Pedro Scooby’s team, who came to Rio Grande do Sul with jet skis to help with the rescues, stated that criminal factions are acting to prevent families from leaving their homes in the region of the islands and Eldorado do Sul.

According to Will Santana, from Sergipe, on Monday, he was with people in a boat, ready to take them to the shore in Porto Alegre, when they gave up on being rescued. “Today we had a meeting with the police. Yesterday I saw some things. There is a faction inside (the region where the rescues take place) that are preventing families from leaving. I put people on the boat and, when it was time to leave, they made everyone come back in fear,” he reported.

Santana also pointed out that Tuesday is an essential day for rescues to take place, due to the forecast of rain returning throughout the week. “We are going with a mission to try to solve this problem. Afterwards, the weather will get dangerous. So everyone needs to leave their homes”, warned the surfer.

The mayor of Guaíba, Marcelo Maranata, expressed concern about the need for support from the State, the Union and the Army to guarantee the safety of the homeless, both in the shelters that welcomed the homeless in his city and Eldorado do Sul, and in the affected neighborhoods by the flood. “We are living in a hostile, very hostile environment in Eldorado do Sul, and we need support from the police there,” he said about the situation of robberies taking place in the neighboring city.

The same request had already been made by the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastião Melo. “Vice Mayor Ricardo Gomes witnessed this in the fourth district. Unfortunately, we are having looted areas in the city. And it’s not just in Porto Alegre. It is happening in several areas of Rio Grande do Sul that were severely hit. We are living in a state of war. Our safety priority is rescuing people in flooded areas”, highlighted the mayor.

“We didn’t think twice about coming to help”

In total, there are 15 surfers specializing in big waves who came to RS through Pedro Scooby. One of these members is Michelle des Bouillons from Rio. She says that the group brought six jet skis to help with the rescues and share their experience, mainly due to their work in Portugal, in the region where waves over 20 meters are recorded. Despite this, she emphasizes that this is the first time they have participated in a mass rescue situation.

“When they called us, we knew we needed to do this mission. We didn’t know what to expect ahead, but we felt completely empowered to help. It’s a very sad situation. We are used to being cold-blooded because of surfing, with other rescue situations. So I feel like we’re already a little shielded from worse scenes. We understood that we had to be here and we didn’t think twice about coming to help”, reinforced the surfer.

For security reasons, the group operates at points indicated by Civil Defense teams and accompanied by civil police officers. “The jet ski is used to reach points where larger boats cannot reach, such as narrower streets, between houses or even balconies. Then we transport the victim to the larger vessel, which brings a larger number to the shore”, added Michelle.

*With information from Rádio Guaíba reporter, Paulo Nunes