The bodies of Diogo Jota and his younger brother André Silva have arrived at a church in Portugal, as family, friends, and supporters gather to pay their final respects following a tragic accident that claimed both lives.
The somber wake is being held this morning at Capela de Ressurreição in Gondomar, with mourners beginning to arrive in the early hours. The funeral is scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at the Igreja Matriz, the Catholic church just next door.
Father Jose Manuel Macedo, the local parish priest, told CNN:
“We’re available to celebrate their life with everyone and to share the pain and the Christian hope.”
Jota, aged 28, and his brother André, 26, died in a fiery crash on Thursday, July 3, in Spain. According to reports, the accident occurred on the A-52 motorway near Cernadilla, roughly ten miles from the Portuguese border. The Lamborghini Huracán they were driving is believed to have suffered a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle, causing it to veer off the road, roll over, and burst into flames. The crash ignited surrounding vegetation, adding to the devastation at the scene.
Emergency services responded quickly, but tragically, both brothers were declared dead on the spot, according to Spanish government official Angel Blanco. The brothers were reportedly on a road trip to Santander to catch a ferry to Britain, as Diogo had recently undergone lung surgery and was advised not to fly.
The wake in Gondomar is taking place just a short drive from Jota’s hometown, Porto, where only two weeks ago he had married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, in a joyful ceremony surrounded by loved ones.
The football world, along with the entire Portuguese nation, is mourning the sudden and heartbreaking loss of a young athlete and his brother, a tragedy made all the more painful by the bright future they both had ahead.