06 February 2025,   16:05
more
Only 12-year-old girl and pilot survive plane crash in Brazil

A 12-year-old girl has been pulled from the mangled wreckage of a helicopter after surviving a crash that killed her parents, writes dailymail.co.uk.

Dramatic footage shows the moment Bethina Feldman was piggybacked to safety by rescuers following the tragic incident which happened near Caieiras, Brazil. In one video she can be seen clinging onto a man’s back as he carries her through dense woodland on January 17, a day after the crash. Another shows the remains of a blue helicopter lying on the floor as emergency responders attach ropes and prepare to hoist it out of the vegetation.

The chopper was carrying Bethina, her parents, and the pilot when it smashed into the ground on Thursday January 16. It left Campo de Marte Airport in São Paulo, Brazil, at around 7:30pm before making a stop at a helipad in the Jaguaré neighbourhood. It took off again, bound for Americana, in stormy conditions before its GPS signal was lost at 8:34pm.

Firefighters and police were dispatched to Caieiras, where the passengers" last mobile signal was recorded. The wreckage of the Eurocopter EC130 was spotted from a police helicopter in a densely wooded area at 6:15 am on January 17.

Bethina, who turned 12 that day, and pilot Edenilson de Oliveira Costa were found walking through the forest a short distance away. Both were taken to a hospital in São Paulo. At the time of reporting, Edenilson remained in the facility in stable condition but with no discharge date set. Bethina’s parents, André Feldman and Juliana Elisa Alves Maria Feldman did not survive the crash.

Their other two children, nine-year-old twins Enrico and Manoela, were not on board the chopper. André, 50, was CEO of the betting company BiG Brazil Internacional Gaming. He was laid to rest in São Paulo on Sunday 19 Jan. His wife, 49, owned the fashion brand Juliana Böher MultiBrand. She was laid to rest in Americana on Saturday. Americana mayor Chico Sardelli said: “They leave behind a legacy of hard work, dedication, and friendship”.

The helicopter could carry up to five passengers and was in good working condition, as reported by NeedToKnow. Investigations are underway to determine why it crashed but officials say “spatial disorientation due to the bad weather” could have caused the tragedy.

MORE HEADLINES