A Spanish influencer who was gang-raped in India during a global motorcycling tour has revealed that she and her partner though they were ‘going to die’ during the attack.
Fernanda, 28, and Vicente, 63, have 300,00 followers online where they have been documenting their journey around the world on a motorbike.
The couple, who were making their way to Nepal from India on separate motorcycles, reportedly stopped for the night at Dumka district in India’s Jharkhand, setting up camp in a makeshift tent before a group of seven men gang-raped Fernanda and severely beat Vincente.
Breaking down in a video filmed at a hospital in India, Vicente revealed the injuries they suffered, saying his ‘mouth was destroyed’ after the attackers used a helmet and a stone to beat him.
Fernanda, who is a dual citizen of Spain and Brazil, said in a video posted to her Instagram page: ‘My face looks like this, but it’s not what hurts me the most. I thought we were going to die. Thank God we are alive.’
Fernanda (pictured, right) and her partner Vicente (pictured, left) have shared harrowing footage after the Brazilian influencer was allegedly beaten and gangraped by several men
Fernanda said she thought she and her partner were ‘going to die’
Three men accused of gang raping Fernanda appeared in court in India today. Police in India are also currently hunting down four other suspects in connection with the violent assault
Fernanda, who was seen with visible bruises on her face, said: ‘They thrashed us and robbed us, but their main aim was to rape me.
Vicente said that he had also been ‘brutally thrashed’, adding: ‘They put a knife around my neck and told me that they would kill me.’
She added that they had approached the police for help, but later said that she was made to take down the video from her page so as not to ‘disturb’ the police’s investigation.
‘The police told me to turn off the post so as not to disturb the investigation. I will post it later,’ she said in an Instagram story post.
Fernanda told a Spanish broadcaster that the attack lasted for two hours, and each of the attackers ‘took turns.’
Fernanda and Vicente (have been documenting online their travel across the world on a motorbike
The couple, known as @vueltaalmundoenmoto on Instagram, have been on a mission to travel across the globe for the past five years. Their bio states they have covered 170,000 km together, visiting 66 countries
‘They raped me, they took turns while some watched and they stayed like that for about two hours,’ she said on Sunday.
Despite the terrible injuries she suffered, Fernanda said she would not stop until her attackers have been brought to justice.
She wrote in an Instagram Story posted to her personal account: ‘I will teach everyone what it takes for justice to be done. Nobody knows s*** about what I’m going through, so I’ll know how to act.
‘And no, I AM NOT ASHAMED, because it was not my fault, and without these monsters. I’m not like you, of course.
‘That’s why I do what I do, because I am strong and I will continue to be strong regardless of what anyone says.
‘And I have had a second chance, to be alive, and I will take it and live my life HAPPY, it has marked me yes, but I will not let that consume me.’
So far, three of her attackers have appeared in court, while police in India are still hunting down four other suspects, all thought to be aged between 20 and 30, in connection with the violent assault.
According to The Telegraph, the couple were in court and were given just £9,500 as compensation for their troubles by Indian authorities.
Anjaneyulu Dodde, deputy commissioner of Dumku, said: ‘We have given him a compensation of one million rupees. We are conducting a thorough investigation and will try to ensure a speedy trial and conviction.’
Fernanda and her husband have been on a mission to travel across the globe for the past five years
The couple are now planning to return to Spain, where they live, before resuming their trip at a later date
Despite the terrible injuries she suffered, Fernanda said she would not stop until her attackers have been brought to justice
The couple, known as @vueltaalmundoenmoto on Instagram, have been on a mission to travel across the globe for the past five years. Their bio states they have covered 170,000 km together, visiting 66 countries.
They are now planning to return to Spain, where they live, before resuming their trip at a later date.
The Brazilian embassy released a statement saying: ‘The Brazilian embassy in New Delhi confirms that a Brazilian citizen – with dual Spanish nationality – and her Spanish husband, both on a motorcycle trip through Asia, were victims of a serious criminal attack in the Dumka district of Jharkhand state, northeast India, this weekend.
‘At the same time, in view of the information about dual nationality, the Brazilian embassy coordinated with the Spanish embassy, which said it had been contacted by the local authorities since both had entered India with Spanish passports.
‘The Spanish embassy said that it had offered all the assistance available, including psychological care, but that the victims had declined the offer as they were already being looked after by the Indian emergency services.
‘In registering its strong repudiation of the barbaric crime committed against the couple, the Brazilian embassy in New Delhi reiterates that it will continue to be available to provide all appropriate assistance and monitor all developments in the case, in close coordination with the Spanish and Indian authorities.’