MILAGRO, ECUADOR (THECOUNT) — José Luis Cevallos Herrera and José Armando Cevallos Herrera, 27-year-old conjoined twin brothers and social media influencers from Ecuador, have died following successive cardiac emergencies while receiving medical treatment in Colombia.
The brothers, widely known online as the Siameses del Ecuador, died Thursday, Oct. 15, according to their family and media reports. Their sudden deaths stunned followers who had watched them document their daily lives and pursue their dream of improving their mobility.
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Their close friend, Fernando Carrillo, described the medical emergency to Spanish television program Y Ahora Sonsoles. According to Carrillo, José Luis initially suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital, where doctors managed to stabilize him.
Minutes later, José Armando suffered a heart attack, Carrillo said. Both brothers subsequently died.
Family members and Ecuadorian media also reported that the twins had been receiving treatment in Colombia intended to improve their mobility and help them work toward walking. According to their brother, Damián Cevallos, José Luis had experienced a urinary tract infection that became more complicated in the days before their deaths. The brothers had reportedly been taken to a hospital for treatment and stabilization before their condition deteriorated.
Born in Milagro, in Ecuador’s Guayas province, the brothers were conjoined at the torso and shared some internal organs, including the intestine and liver. Their doctors had initially given them a life expectancy of only a few months, but they lived to age 27.
Over the years, the brothers built a substantial online following by sharing glimpses of their lives, their experiences as conjoined twins, and their determination to overcome physical challenges. Their content appeared across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and other platforms, attracting hundreds of thousands of followers across their accounts.
In recent months, they had been working with medical professionals and mobility equipment as they pursued their goal of standing and walking. In a video recorded just two days before their deaths, the brothers discussed continuing their physical exercises and remaining committed to that dream.
Their social media team announced their deaths Thursday in a message thanking the people who had supported the brothers and helped them pursue their goals. The statement said their joy, their story and the love they shared would remain in the hearts of those who knew them.
Damián also expressed his devastation over the sudden loss, saying he could scarcely imagine the pain their parents were experiencing. Friends and followers have since shared tributes recalling the brothers’ optimism, perseverance and willingness to share their lives with the public.
The brothers’ deaths followed a medical crisis involving both men, who shared a body. Carrillo’s account described the two cardiac events occurring within minutes of one another. Their precise medical causes have not been independently established in the reporting reviewed for this article.
Milagro, their hometown, is in Guayas province in southwestern Ecuador, while the brothers were in Colombia for treatment when they died. Reports identify Colombia as the country where the deaths occurred, but the exact hospital location has not been independently confirmed here.
Google Maps: Colombia — approximate country-level location only
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