1 week ago
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This is the moment a deputy mayor rescued a horse from drowning on a flooded street in southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul.
The heroic images shows Santo Antônio da Patrulha Deputy Mayor Marcelo Santos holding on to the back of a jet ski with one hand while grabbing onto the lasso with the other in order to prevent the horse from being swept away in the municipality of Canoas.
Santos at one point clenched on the rope with his teeth and then reached out and grabbed the horse's halter to bring the animal close to him.
The rescue took place Monday while he and volunteers were helping residents evacuate from their homes.
'We were rescuing people, but when we saw the horse, we would never let him die,' Santos told Brazilian news outlet G1.
Santo Antônio da Patrulha Deputy Mayor Marcelo Santos traveled 50 miles to the municipality of Canoas to volunteer in the rescue of residents stranded in their flooded homes following last week's storm in the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul and saved a horse from drowning on Monday
Marcelo Santos, the deputy mayor of Santo Antônio da Patrulha, helped rescue a horse (not pictured) from drowning on a flooded street in the municipality of Canoas on Monday
Santos' city, located 50 miles from Canoas, did not suffer significant damage from last week's storms and flooding.
'I saw the horse walking everywhere, it was just with its nose out,' he recalled. 'I jumped into the water to put a rope. I got on a jet ski and went to stand (with) it. When I came back, the most beautiful thing: the horse wanted to come back together.'
Santos traveled back home Wednesday. His actions were applauded by Santo Antônio da Patrulha Mayor Rodrigo Massulo via an Instagram post.
'I have yet to meet anyone more courageous, with more heart and with the drive to save lives than my deputy mayor,' Massulo wrote. 'I can only ask God to always help him like this.'
TV Globo images also captured the rescue of another horse Thursday after it was spotted stranded on the roof of a home a day earlier in the municipality of Canoas.
Footage showed army soldiers and firefighters placing the horse on raft after a veterinarian was able to sedate it.
Deputy Mayor Marcelo Santos rode up to a horse on a jet ski and pulled it out of a flooded street in the southern Brazil city of Canoas on Monday. Canoas has reported four of the 107 deaths following last week's storm in the state of Rio Grande do Sul
Deputy Mayor Santos said the horse (not pictured) that he rescued from drowning on a Brazilian street Monday did not put up a struggle when he held on to its lasso and halter and escorted it to dry land
The army and fire department rescued a horse on Thursday after it was seen stranded on the roof of a home by a TV Globo helicopter a day earlier
The most recent report from Rio Grande do Sul Civil Defense confirmed 136 are missing and 374 have been treated for injuries since April 29.
The rain storm severely impacted 425 of the states 497 cities and has displaced 232,100 residents from 100,000 that have been destroyed.
Rains returned Wednesday to parts of the state, including its capital Porto Alegre, where rescue missions were halted because of strong winds.
Governor Eduardo Leite said the state will need at least $3.6 billion to cover the damages caused by the storm.
'Resources are needed for several areas. I insist: the effect of the floods and the extent of the tragedy are devastating,' he said.
