Firefighter Uellinton Lopes dos Santos, 39, was found dead this Monday (26), after having disappeared on Sunday while fighting forest fires in the Xingu Indigenous Park, in the state of Mato Grosso.
His body was found charred around 10 a.m. According to the Civil Police, there is no evidence of foul play in Uellinton’s death, but “appropriate measures” are being taken.
In a joint statement with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MMA), the Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Ibama) stated that Uellinton was fighting forest fires in the Capoto/Jarina Indigenous Land, in São José do Xingu.
The note also says the body was located about 1 km from a fire defense line.
The death of firefighter Uellinton Lopes dos Santos, 39, while fighting forest fires in Mato Grosso, causes us great sadness and indignation.
Uellinton was part of Prevfogo, Ibama’s National Center for the Prevention and Fight against Forest Fires, and previously… https://t.co/5bcEZB7SMr
— Lula (@LulaOficial) August 26, 2024
The victim had been a member of the fire brigade at Ibama’s National Center for the Prevention and Fight against Forest Fires (Prevfogo) since the beginning of this year, but had already been fighting forest fires since 2021, when he worked as a fire brigade member at the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio).
Deaths in fire
Another similar case occurred in Urupês, in the interior of São Paulo, last Friday (23). Two employees of a plant died trying to fight a fire.
According to the government of São Paulo, around 30 cities in the state are on high alert for major fires. Some highways, both concessioned and state-owned, are completely or partially closed due to the situation caused by the smoke.
This content was originally published in Firefighter is found charred after disappearing while fighting the flames in Xingu on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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