The remains of Portugal international Diogo Jota and his younger brother Andre Silva were received with a solemn reception as heartbroken supporters lined the streets outside a church in Gondomar, northern Portugal, on Thursday evening.
According to the Daily Mail, tears spilt down mourners’ faces as hearses carrying the boys’ coffins arrived at the Capela de Ressurreicao shortly after 11 p.m., ahead of an early morning wake.
The two siblings were sadly killed in a car crash at Cernadilla, just across the Spanish border, in the early hours of Thursday when Jota’s Lamborghini Huracan’s tyre reportedly burst while overtaking another vehicle.
The vehicle swerved off the A-52 motorway, rolled several times, and caught fire, killing both brothers instantly.
According to the Daily Mail, Spanish government official Angel Blanco confirmed that the brothers died at the scene before rescue personnel arrived.
The incident also ignited adjacent foliage, requiring firefighters to respond quickly. Authorities said it’s unclear which brother was driving at the time of the crash.
The local parish priest, Jose Macedo, told CNN that the wake would begin at 8 a.m. today in the chapel, with the funeral service scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at the Igreja Matriz, the Catholic church next door.
“We’re available to celebrate [their life] with everyone and to share the pain and the Christian hope,” Macedo said.
Earlier on Thursday afternoon, hearses were seen at a funeral home in Puebla de Sanabria, Spain, where the bodies had been transferred.
Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes, was seen supporting the mourning family and accompanying the footballer’s mother to the funeral home.
“We lost two great people. Diogo is an example as a person, husband, son, and professional. I still can’t believe it. It’s very difficult,” Mendes said tearfully.
The procession to Gondomar, only 30 minutes from Jota’s birthplace of Porto, arrived late at night.
The wake is being held in the same city where the 28-year-old forward married his childhood girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, in front of close friends and family just two weeks ago.
According to sources, Jota and Andre, 26, were driving to Santander to take a ferry to the UK, having decided against flying due to Jota’s recent lung operation.
