Bloody accident and rain mar Rio carnival
Samba school float crashes into spectators
RIO DE JANEIRO: A float crashed during Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous Carnival parade on Sunday evening and injured at least 12 people, including at least one person reported in serious condition, but organisers proceeded with the show.
The incident involved the last float of the first samba school parading through Rio’s Sambadrome. The float of samba school Paraiso do Tuiuti crashed into a fence that separates the stands from the pavement, injuring spectators, revellers and journalists. One reporter had an exposed fracture.
Police began an investigation as soon as the float finished its transit through the Sambadrome. Police investigator William Lourenco Bezerra said the three conductors of the float would be questioned yesterday, adding that one driver already had been identified as the main focus of the probe.
“The last float went into reverse and ended up pressing revellers against the fence on one side. That caused chaos. Then the conductors made a quick manoeuvre to the opposite direction and injured more people,” Mr Bezerra said. “The main conductor of the float mixed with the rest of the samba school and left. But he has already been identified and will be investigated.”
Anna Maria Ciarlini, a medical coordinator at the sambadrome, said most injuries were minor, but two people had to be rushed to a nearby hospital, one of them with severe head injuries.
Ms Ciarlini said 12 people were injured in total. Brazilian media reports counted 20 people seeking medical attention.
The pavement of the Sambadrome was wet because of a persistent drizzle. Rain can make the big floats harder to guide. The drizzle also created more difficulties for fire fighters to cut a fence to remove two women drenched in blood.
In a statement, samba school Paraiso do Tuiuti said it “deeply regrets” the incident. “Our board offers its deepest sentiments and is open to make any clarifications as soon as all the causes of the accident are investigated. We will offer all the assistance to the victims of this irreparable incident,” the samba school said.
Despite the accident, the head of the Rio parade, Elmo dos Santos, said that “the show must go on”. “The rain made the car veer to the left. Organisers tried to adjust, but then they lost control. It is all regrettable, but we cannot stop,” Mr dos Santos told journalists.
Elmano Santos, a reveller from Rio, said the float missed him by centimetres.
“It was very quick. I saw a few journalists taking pictures close to the float get injured. I can’t remember the last time I saw an accident here,” he said.
Paraiso do Tuiuti was the first of six samba schools parading in the night’s extravaganza at the Sambadrome, which was scheduled to run until yesterday.
Only revellers at the entrance of the Sambadrome were aware of the incident. Many who found out later agreed with the decision to carry on.
“It is all very sad, but to stop Carnival would create an even bigger problem,” said Jonas Elias, a tourist from Salvador. “Of course this spoils the party a bit, but to frustrate all this crowd would make the tragedy even bigger.”
Despite the incident and pools of blood on the rain-spattered ground, the party soon got back in swing. There were intense cheers around the packed stadium of 70,000 people the moment that drumming began to thunder up from the piste.
Samba queens dressed in sequined micro-costumes and vast feathered headdresses danced at dizzying speed. Behind them came armies of drummers and costumed dancers, interspersed by the floats.
Each school picks a theme for its parade and is judged according to strict criteria.
Another six schools were to parade last night, with the champion being announced tomorrow, the start of Lent in the mostly Roman Catholic Brazil.
The most daring parade was from the samba school known as Imperatriz Leopoldinense, which chose the destruction of Brazil’s majestic Amazon rainforest as its theme. Schools typically pick politically safe themes, often paying homage to Brazilian musicians. Paraiso do Tuiuti, for example, honored the 50th anniversary of the “Tropicalia” musical movement.
But Imperatriz Leopoldinense waded into the debate over indigenous rights, agribusiness expansion into once-pristine lands, and the future of the ever more under pressure Amazon.
Floats included portrayals of the jungle, indigenous musicians, piles of skulls and a giant head of a crying indigenous man, crushed by a log the size of a bus.
Members of real native tribes were joining the parade to raise awareness about their plight.
“This parade is incredibly important,” said Leticia Campos, 35, who was participating in a tight green costume with bright red wings, representing the forest on fire. “People here never pay attention to the Indians when in fact they are the masters of the rainforest and it was stolen from them.”
The parade has infuriated members of the powerful agribusiness sector, which is frequently accused of being a major contributor to global warming through logging and cattle ranching.
The Brazilian Association of Cattle Breeders called the parade “unacceptable”. The rice industry lobby warned of “damage to the country”.