( CNN ) -- Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa , whose hands and feet were amputated in a bid to save her from a deadly and little-known illness , died early Saturday , two friends of the model told CNN . Brazilian model Mariana Bridi da Costa died Saturday after undergoing multiple amputations . `` Unfortunately Mari could n't resist any longer . She passed away at 3 a.m. today , '' Henrique Fontes , executive director of Miss World Brazil , said in an e-mail to CNN . Renato Lindgren , a friend of the model who runs a blog dedicated to her , confirmed da Costa 's death . On his blog , Lindgren wrote that he and other friends were going to the hospital . `` On behalf of all the family , we are grateful for the support and the affection that the entire world has sent to us , '' he wrote . Da Costa , 20 , had fought a pernicious disease that has ravaged her body and forced doctors to perform the amputations and extract part of her stomach as well as both kidneys . She had been breathing through a respirator , officials at Dorio Silva Hospital in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo said Friday . Da Costa suffered from necrosis , or the fast deadening of tissue , caused by septicemia . Septicemia , triggered by a bacterial infection , causes insufficient blood flow that can lead to organ failure . Da Costa first sought medical advice after feeling ill in late December . Hospital officials said she was transferred to Dorio Silva on January 3 in `` septic shock , '' a serious medical condition caused by an inflammation . Da Costa was first diagnosed as suffering a urinary tract infection . By the time the infection was detected , it had developed into septicemia . Doctors decided to amputate first her hands and then her feet after the condition reduced the amount of oxygen being delivered to her limbs . Just less than one month ago , da Costa was a healthy young woman well on the way to achieving her dream of becoming a world class model . She placed sixth in the Miss Bikini International competition in China last year and took first place for the `` Best in Swimsuit '' category . In 2007 and 2008 , she came fourth in the contest to become Brazil 's entrant for the Miss World pageant . Thiago Simoes , da Costa 's fiance , said she was on her way to international stardom , signing with prominent model scout Dilson Stein , who brought Brazilian models , including Gisele Bundchen and Luize Altenhofen , to the world stage . `` All the agencies were very interested in knowing her . I know for a fact that they would have loved her because Mariana is beautiful , '' Stein told Brazil 's Tribuna newspaper . Simoes told CNN that da Costa woke up from a coma 10 days ago and told him how much she wanted to be alive . `` She told me she was praying to stay alive , that she still had a lot to do on this earth , that she wanted to go on with her plans , '' he said . `` She comes from a humble family and she was the main breadwinner , '' said Simoes , who refuted rumors that da Costa was dieting and that might have affected her health . `` She never dieted , never took pills ... she is a very simple , very warm human being , '' he said . A doctor who recently published an article in The New England Journal of Medicine on the disease , told CNN that little was known about the illness , although it is the tenth leading cause of deaths in the United States . `` We know a lot about what happens once a patient contracts the illness but we know very little about what causes it , '' said Dr. Greg Martin of Emory University in Atlanta . Martin said sepsis is a `` response '' to an infection that can cause the immune system to lose its balance . `` Basically , the immune system goes haywire after contracting an infection and begins to overreact , '' he said . Men are more susceptible than women , Martin said . News of da Costa 's condition spread quickly throughout Brazil and then worldwide . A message on her Web site said that the volume of traffic had caused it to crash , and that the site had received more than 15,000 hits in two days . `` The whole world , I repeat , the whole world is touched by the case of Mariana , '' it said . The message said they had received `` e-mails of solidarity from all corners of the world : Australia , Ukraine , Czech Republic , France , Italy , USA , Russia , etc . '' CNN 's Hilary Whiteman and Helena de Moura contributed to this report .
NEW : Brazilian amputee model Mariana Bridi da Costa arrived early Saturday . Da Costa 's hands , feet were paralyzed after she contracted septicemia . Da Costa placed sixth in the Miss Bikini International competition in Japan .