Hero dad dies saving son, 10, from ‘monster’ waves

He sacrificed his life to save his son.

A heroic father died last week while rescuing his son from drowning in a deadly current off the coast of Brazil.

The accident occurred Dec. 3 while Danilo Torrano Rios, 36, was on vacation with his wife, 10-year-old son and friends at Guarajuba Beach in Bahia state, Jam Press reported. The financial consultant had visited the area many times and shared photos of past excursions on social media.

Disaster struck after Rios and others entered the sea at 5:30 p.m. — after lifeguards left for the day — and inclement weather turned the waters tumultuous. The change reportedly pulled the tourists farther away from shore.

In order to avoid getting swept out to sea, the group decided to head back to the beach, but Rios noticed his son foundering about in the waves and attempted to assist him. Eyewitnesses said the father of two grabbed his son but then released him after realizing they were both being pulled out by the powerful current, local media reported.

Thankfully, the boy and the rest of the party made it back to shore, but Rios was nowhere to be seen. Before he was swept away, bystanders had thrown a buoy at the imperiled tourist, but it failed to reach him.

Fearing the worst, Rios’ friends and family contacted emergency services, who launched a rescue mission. Authorities confirmed that they’d found Rios Dec. 5.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, the National Civil Defence warned residents to never “try to rescue a drowning person if they are not prepared for the job” and to contact emergency services as quickly as possible.

An investigation into Rios’ death is ongoing.