Bride killed in helicopter horror crash as big wedding entrance to surprise groom goes horribly wrong
Rosemeire Silva Nascimento died alongside three others after chopper came down near upmarket Sao Paolo suburb
A BRAZILIAN bride’s surprise spectacular entrance to her wedding went tragically wrong yesterday when the helicopter she was flying in crashed minutes before she was due to land to tie the knot.
Rosemeire Silva Nascimento, who was wearing her wedding dress and veil, died instantly along with three others.
The 32-year-old nurse planned to amaze her fiancé, Udirley Narques Damasceno, 34, and their 300 guests with a stunning entrance by flying into the Recanto Beija-Flor venue wedding grounds in Sao Lourenco da Serra, a wealthy suburb in Sao Paulo, in a chopper.
The groom was left in state of shock at the altar as he was told his bride had died.
According to wedding organiser Carlos Eduardo Batista – one of the few who knew about the surprise – the groom, a locksmith, was totally in the dark about the stunt.
Carlos helped to organise the idea.
He said: “Every bride has a dream to do something amazing on
their big day and for Rosemeire, hers was to turn up at her wedding in a helicopter without anyone knowing beforehand.”
In addition to the bride, the other victims included her brother, Silvano Nascimento da Silva, who had been “very excited about the plan”, the wedding photographer, Nayla Cristina Neves Lousada, who was six months pregnant, and Peterson Pinheiro the pilot.
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The aircraft – a Robinson R44 model – crashed in a densely forested area on the outskirts of the football field where it had been scheduled to land.
Eight teams from Sao Paulo Fire Department were on the scene swiftly as the crash site was close to an access road, but tragically there were no survivors.
Carlos said he was surprised when the chopper hadn’t appeared by 4pm – the time marked for the ceremony.
He said: “I called the hire company and the owner said the helicopter had gone up and it should have arrived.
“Shortly after he called me back to say an aircraft had fallen but he didn’t think it was ours."
The weather on the day was overcast with fog and light rain.
Carlos said: "I’ve been doing these wedding parties for over 30 years and when a bride decides to arrive by helicopter unforeseen delays or cancellations are common because of bad weather and they often finish their journey by taxi.”
The veteran wedding planner called the police and fire department in desperation and finally received the tragic information around 5.30pm.
He said: "I called the pastor who was officiating at the ceremony and he went with me to help break the awful news to the groom.
“Udirley was shell-shocked and couldn’t speak as he tried to understand what had happened. He was heartbroken.”
Carlos said all the laughter and joy got “sucked out of the room” the instant everyone knew as “no one knew how to react to this enormous tragedy”.
People begun to weep as the horror of the situation sunk in.
“Everyone expected a day of joy but it turned into a day of horror,” he said.
The National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) said in a statement: “The aircraft had a valid inspection certificate and was airworthy with a capacity to carry up to three people, not counting the pilot.”
Local man Rubens Pires, 36, who saw the crash, said the helicopter was spinning around as if it was looking for a place to land.
He said: “(The pilot) went around twice. The propeller suddenly stopped and appeared to fall apart.
“Then we heard a crashing noise as the aircraft fell into the trees.”
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
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