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Bruna spent 42 hours adrift at sea after the jet ski she was on sank off the coast of São Paulo. Mother of a 4-year-old girl, she was rescued by a fisherman who changed his route by chance. The friend who accompanied her remains missing, and the search continues.
It was 42 hours of terror at sea. Bruna, mother of a 4-year-old girl, survived one of the most frightening nightmares anyone can face: being adrift in the ocean, alone, after the jet ski she was riding sank off the northern coast of São Paulo. Rescued alive by a fisherman who, by chance, had changed his route that day, she lived to tell a story that mixes despair, faith, and an emotional reunion with her daughter.
The incident began on the morning of Sunday, May 23, when a group of friends gathered for a day trip in Ilhabela. What was meant to be a day of celebration and joy ended in tragedy when Bruna and her friend Diogo Pereira Bernardino, 28, embarked on a jet ski towards the open sea and never returned together. While Bruna was found after more than a day and a half at sea, Diogo remains missing, and the family holds hope of finding him.
A trip that ended in a nightmare
The story began in Saco da Capela, in Ilhabela, a region of calm waters, few waves, and almost no currents, considered ideal for navigation. From there, a group of nine people, eight friends and the sailor piloting the boat, embarked on a yacht for a trip heading south to Pitangueiras beach. Everything went as planned, with photos and moments of fun.
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After nearly three hours of the tour, the boat docked in the region known as Ponta das Canas, where the group remained for about an hour. It was then that Bruna and Diogo decided to board the jet ski and head towards the open sea. This was the last time the two were seen together. The last photo of Diogo shows him about to get on the jet ski, with Bruna in the background, also preparing, a record that would become painful when time passed and the two did not return.
The breakdown that left the two alone at sea
According to Bruna’s account, the jet ski had a problem shortly after the two left the friends’ line of sight. The vehicle broke down and stopped working out of nowhere. At first, she thought her friend was joking until she realized the seriousness of the situation. As they were not far from the boat and could see the island, they decided to try to swim there.
Diogo tied a rope to their vests, and the two jumped into the water to swim towards land. However, halfway through, panic overtook Bruna, who began to scream for help with no one around. Gradually, the jet ski sank completely, and the two were left alone at sea, relying only on life jackets to stay afloat. It was the beginning of a struggle for survival that would last almost two days.
The hallucinations of those fighting to survive
Bruna reports that after about 24 hours adrift, she began to have hallucinations. With the weather turning, the rain and wind increasing, she started seeing things that didn’t exist. She even saw her own mother, imagined a shark, and experienced moments of panic and mental confusion, common symptoms in extreme situations of exhaustion and exposure.
In one of the most distressing episodes, she heard something calling her name and saw, in the dark, what seemed to be a boat. She started swimming towards that image, but it wasn’t a boat, it was a mountain. As she described it, she was swimming towards death. These delusions are typical of hypothermia cases, a condition where the body, submerged for a long time, loses heat and enters a dangerous state of reduced body temperature, even in waters that are not extremely cold.
The unlikely rescue made by a fisherman
Bruna’s salvation came from where it was least expected. While the Navy, firefighters, and Military Police conducted searches that extended through the night, it was a fisherman who reached her. And through a surprising circumstance: he had completely changed the route he would take that day. Instead of heading north towards Ubatuba, as he had arranged with his brother in the morning, he ended up going south, in the opposite direction.
When asked about the reason for the change, the fisherman attributed it to something greater, saying there was no other explanation but faith. That’s how he spotted, about 100 meters away, a person in the water weakly raising their arm. Bruna was found approximately 30 km away from the point where she had disappeared, a detail that shows how far the current had taken her. Taken to the hospital, she was admitted until Thursday, with marks from the life jacket on her neck and arms.
The search that continues for the missing friend
While Bruna was recovering, the searches for Diogo Pereira Bernardino continued intensely. The Brazilian Navy divided the area into quadrants and used various vessels to cover each region, a task that continued even when night fell and the cold increased. The jet ski was recovered, and the life jacket that was with Diogo was also found in the sea, but he remained missing.
According to the available information, the investigation considers it an unfortunate event, an accident, and not a crime, with no one under investigation at the moment. Diogo’s family, who lives in Ceará, followed everything with anguish, seeking answers and maintaining hope that he would have, like Bruna, a new date to celebrate. The vastness of the sea and the lack of references made the task of locating him extremely challenging.
The reunion that turned terror into a new beginning
Despite all the trauma, Bruna’s story had a hopeful ending. At the moment she was rescued, her first action was to ask the rescuers to go after the friend who had remained at sea, a gesture that reveals solidarity even at the limit of one’s own survival. For the rescue team, saving a life was described as something gratifying and emotional.
The most remarkable moment, however, came when she reunited with her 4-year-old daughter. Amid tears, Bruna hugged the girl and promised not to leave her side again. For her, surviving now represents a new life and a fresh start, to the point of saying she will now have two birthdays to celebrate: the date of her birth and the date she was reborn at sea. It’s a turnaround that transforms the terror experienced at sea into gratitude for a second chance.
What did you feel when reading Bruna’s survival story at sea? Do you believe the fisherman’s change of course was a work of chance or destiny? And what message would you leave for Diogo’s family, who are still waiting for news? Share in the comments your chain of faith and hope for those still being searched for.
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