Valnir da Silva died on the streets of a poor Rio de Janeiro neighbourhood on Saturday. His body lay on the sidewalk for 30 hours, according to relatives and neighbours. Although they may never be sure, they suspect the 62-year-old was an uncounted victim of the coronavirus outbreak tearing through Rio's marginalised communities and stretching public services past their limits. | Above: The body of Silva lays on a sidewalk of Arara community.
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Ricardo Moraes, a photojournalist in Rio, was covering a police operation early on Sunday when he heard reports about the corpse in the nearby favela of Arara. When he arrived at the scene around 7 a.m. on Sunday, Moraes found Silva lying on the same spot where locals said he had died on Saturday morning - sandwiched between a row of parked cars and a small soccer pitch. | Above: Workers of a funeral parlour remove the body of Silva.
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A group of locals at a nearby bar said Silva's life began to fall apart after the death of his wife a few months back, and he was soon living on the street.
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On Saturday, when Silva complained that he could not breathe, the locals said they called an ambulance for him, but he died before it arrived. Some residents thought he had died from COVID-19, the respiratory diseases caused by the coronavirus, but nobody was certain.
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The ambulance arrived around 4 p.m. on Saturday, locals said, but left without the body. Paramedics put his cause of death as cardiac arrest and another unknown cause, according to the death certificate. | Above: Funeral workers place the body of Silva in a casket.
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In a statement, the city ambulance service said it was not responsible for removing the corpse. They did not say whether Silva had been tested for COVID-19. | Above: Funeral workers are pictured next to police officers after removing the body of Silva.
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The next morning, Silva's stepson Marcos Vinicius Andrade da Silva, 26, tried to find another authority to pick up the body. He said he spoke with police officers on patrol, who alerted colleagues at the 21st Civil Police station nearby, to no avail. | Above: Funeral workers are are seen before removing the body of Silva.
Image Credit: REUTERS
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A civil police spokeswoman said they only take charge of removing corpses in criminal cases. After spending the day on the phone, the stepson said a funeral team arrived finally at 5 p.m. on Sunday. | Above: A funeral worker stands next to police officers after removing the body of Silva.
Image Credit: REUTERS
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"We were very relieved that they had taken him away... but also very sad about what happened," he said. On Monday, da Silva was buried at a ceremony with four people, including Marcos and his mother, in attendance. | Above: Marcos Vinicius Andrade da Silva helps to carry the coffin of Silva, during his funeral at Cemiterio de Inhauma, during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Inhauma in Rio de Janeiro.
Image Credit: REUTERS
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