This is the unbelievable moment a young man appears calm and unperturbed despite a large kitchen knife sticking out of his back.
Elionardo Nascimento had been enjoying a drink in a pub in Brasileia, a rural town in north Brazil, when an assailant ran up behind him and plunged a blade between his shoulder blades.
The 22-year-old narrowly survived the horrendous attack because the blade failed to hit major organs and missed his spinal column by millimeters, surgeons said.
Calm facing danger: Elionardo Nascimento, 22, is seen calmly waiting for an ambulance after he was stabbed in the back by what he claims was an unknown man
Images hows Mr Nascimento standing by the side of the road, seemingly unbothered by the knife stuck between his shoulder-blades, and the blood pouring down his back.
Mr Nascimento claimed the attack was unprovoked as he ‘didn’t know the person behind the assault and had not argued with anyone that night.’
Footage of the incident shows the labourer with the wooden-hilted kitchen knife embedded in his back and his red tee-shirt drenched with blood.
In the film, locals are heard comforting the victim as they tell him to keep calm because an ambulance is coming and warn him not to fall down but to stay upright and awake.
Mr Nascimento, who is recovering in Rio Branco Emergency Hospital after successful surgery to remove the weapon, said: ‘I don’t know why this happened. I wasn’t involved in a fight or an argument.
Lucky: Mr Nascimento narrowly survived the horrendous attack because the blade missed major organs and his spinal column
Getting help: Footage of the incident shows the labourer with the wooden-hilted kitchen knife embedded in his back and his red tee-shirt drenched with blood
‘I had just come out of the pub to talk to some friends and was standing around outside with a drink in my hand, when a guy ran up, stabbed me in the back and ran off.
‘I didn’t even see him approach. I just felt a punch in my back which nearly knocked me off my feet.
‘I was a bit confused as to what had just happened and when a friend took a look and told me I had a knife in my back, I couldn’t believe it.
‘At the time, I didn’t feel any pain, I think I must have been in a state of shock. But I knew I had to keep upright and calm.
‘There was no point panicking as this would only have made the situation worse than it was already.’
Getting help: Mr Nascimento is seen after arriving at hospital, shortly before surgery
By the time cops arrived, the victim had been given a chair and was able to walk a few steps to it to sit down while waiting for the ambulance.
Detective Karlesso Nespoli said: ‘We were surprised to find the victim alert and not panicking. His composure certainly helped him to stay alive.
Narrow miss: The knife is seen after having been removed by doctors
‘Elionardo was able to tell us what happened, and our preliminary investigations found the knife was new and had only recently been bought.
‘At the time of the attack, nobody ran after the suspect as they didn’t immediately realise what he had done.
‘We are treating this as attempted murder and we have identified a suspect and a warrant is out for his arrest,’ Det Nespoli added.
The victim’s aunt, Reginilda da Cruz Araújo, 41, revealed her nephew is out of intensive care and on the way to making a full recovery.
She said: ‘Elionardo is a quiet person, hardworking and has never been in a fight with anyone. This has really scared us because we can’t understand why he was targeted by someone who he has never exchanged a cross word with.
‘My nephew came close to dying and we are thankful that he was strong and fit enough to survive this cowardly act,’ the aunt added.
Doctors reported that Mr Nascimento is already trying to walk and he may not suffer any long term damage or side effects from the attack.