A wave of sorrow swept through the streets of Gondomar, northern Portugal, on Thursday night as the bodies of Portugal international footballer Diogo Jota and his younger brother, Andre, arrived for burial.
Crowds of grieving supporters gathered outside the Capela de Ressurreição, tearfully watching as the hearses carrying the brothers arrived just after 11 p.m. for an overnight wake.
The somber procession marked the return of the siblings to their homeland following a tragic car accident earlier that day.
According to the Daily Mail, the brothers died instantly when a Lamborghini Huracan, reportedly driven by one of them, veered off the A-52 motorway near Cernadilla, just across the Spanish border.
The car’s tyre is believed to have burst while overtaking, causing the vehicle to roll several times and catch fire.
Spanish government official Angel Blanco confirmed that both brothers were pronounced dead at the scene before emergency services could intervene.
The impact of the crash also ignited nearby vegetation, prompting a swift response from firefighters. Authorities have not yet determined which brother was behind the wheel.
Earlier in the day, the bodies were transported from a funeral home in Puebla de Sanabria, Spain, where they had been held since the crash. Diogo Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes, was seen consoling the family and escorting Jota’s mother into the facility.
“We lost two amazing people,” Mendes said. “Diogo was an example of integrity as a professional, a husband, a son. I still can’t believe this happened. It’s incredibly painful.”
The emotional wake is taking place in the same city where Jota, 28, married his longtime partner Rute Cardoso just two weeks ago. The couple celebrated their wedding surrounded by close friends and family.
The local parish priest, Jose Macedo, told CNN that the wake would begin at 8 a.m. Friday, followed by a funeral service on Saturday at 10 a.m. at the nearby Igreja Matriz.
“We are here to celebrate their lives, to share in the sorrow, and to hold on to Christian hope,” Macedo said.
Reports indicate that Diogo and 26-year-old Andre were en route to Santander, where they planned to board a ferry to the UK. They had reportedly chosen not to fly due to Jota’s recent lung surgery.
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