A Brazilian rodeo queen and young mother has died after being struck by lightning during a light rainstorm in her mother’s garden.
Ana Beatriz Araújo Ferreira, 22, was brushing her niece’s hair in an outdoor bathing area on Saturday when the bolt hit her without warning in the town of Almas, her family said Brazil. She had just finished bathing her 5-year-old son, Luiz Henrique, and was tending to her brother’s daughter when the fatal strike occurred.
“The day was cloudy with a very calm drizzle,” her brother, César Augusto, explained Brazil.
“She was combing my niece’s hair when the bolt hit,” her sister, Lana Letícia, added.
Ferreira, known to loved ones as “Aninha,” was rushed to a nearby hospital in Almas but did not survive her injuries.
Augusto remembered his sister as someone who found purpose in simple acts of care, saying she died “doing what she loved most, showing love through something simple.”
“Aninha is and was one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known,” he continued.
The 22-year-old balanced her studies in physiotherapy at Unopar University with raising her young son. She had recently been crowned Queen of the Rodeo at ExpoAlmas, an annual agriculture and livestock fair in central Brazil.
ExpoAlmas organizers issued a statement mourning her loss alongside family members.
“Her passing leaves a huge void among family, friends, and the entire community that had the privilege of knowing her,” they said.
“In this moment of grief, we stand in solidarity with [her] family and friends, wishing them strength and comfort to face [this] irreparable loss.”
Augusto paid tribute to his sister on Instagram, writing, “Thank you for those 22 years of us.”
“For having existed. For teaching us so much in such a short time. You aren’t truly gone. You live on in your son, in our story, and in a love that will never end.”