Brazil teens fall to deaths after slipping at off-limits waterfall

Bruna Vellasquez and Monique Medeiros were inseparable friends. Photos / Instagram

Two teenage friends, who were visiting an off-limits waterfall in Brazil, have died after plunging 30m, just moments after posting a photo from the edge of the natural wonder.

Monique Medeiros, 19, and Bruna Vellasquez, 18, fell when one of the young women slipped near the top of the isolated waterfall and the other went to help, news.com.au reports.

The pair were described as "inseparable" friends. They had reportedly gone for a walk with friends to the waterfall spot in Salto Caveiras, Lages, Brazil.

According to local police, one of the women slipped as she was walking near the top of the waterfall and the other lost her balance when she went to help.

Tragically, both young women were killed after falling together. It is understood the waterfall can only be reached by foot.

Vellasquez was pronounced dead at the scene before rescuers arrived, while Medeiros died in hospital from her injuries shortly after being rescued.

According to The Sun, police said Medeiros had "a severe head injury" that required her to be flown to hospital by helicopter.

Monique Medeiros and Bruna Vellasquez died after falling at a waterfall. The group of friends posted a snap to social media on top of the waterfall before the tragic accident. Photos / Instagram

At the funeral of both women in their native Lages in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, friends and wellwishers paid tribute to the pair.

One said Vellasquez, who was due to celebrate her 19th birthday on September 28, was: "So pretty and so young".

"Please God comfort the hearts of your family."

Dmitri Arruda, who owned a hamburger restaurant where Medeiros used to work while she was studying to be a nurse, said the teen "helped him a lot".

"She began as a cashier before beginning to work with me in its management," he told local media.

"I fell ill and she helped me a lot and basically had to run the business alone."

According to local authorities, the waterfall spot where the teenagers died was off-limits to tourists, but locals often visited the area.

A photo showing the victims driving to the waterfall by car was posted on social media, along with another showing two women sat at the top of a waterfall above a group of people below them.