Grief-stricken supporters filled the streets of Gondomar, northern Portugal, on Thursday night as the bodies of Portugal international Diogo Jota and his younger brother, Andre, were brought home for burial.
The hearses carrying their coffins arrived at the Capela de Ressurreição just after 11pm, greeted by mourners in tears ahead of an early morning wake.
The brothers tragically lost their lives in a car crash in the early hours of Thursday near Cernadilla, just across the Spanish border. Reports indicate that a tyre on Jota’s Lamborghini Huracan burst while overtaking another vehicle, causing the car to veer off the A-52 motorway, roll several times, and burst into flames. Both siblings died instantly.
Spanish government official Angel Blanco confirmed that emergency services could not save the brothers, as they were already dead when responders arrived. The impact of the crash also sparked a fire that spread to nearby vegetation, which firefighters quickly contained. Authorities have not yet determined which of the brothers was driving.
Parish priest Jose Macedo said the wake would begin at 8am Friday at the chapel, with the funeral scheduled for 10am Saturday at the adjoining Igreja Matriz. “We are here to share in the pain and the Christian hope, and to honour their memory with the community,” Macedo said.
Earlier on Thursday, the brothers’ bodies were transported from a funeral home in Puebla de Sanabria, Spain, where they were initially taken. Jota’s agent, Jorge Mendes, was seen comforting the devastated family.
“We lost two incredible people. Diogo was a model son, husband, and professional. I still can’t believe it—it’s heartbreaking,” Mendes said, visibly emotional.
The tragedy comes just two weeks after the 28-year-old Jota married his childhood sweetheart, Rute Cardoso, in Gondomar.
It is reported that Jota and 26-year-old Andre were en route to Santander to catch a ferry to the UK, choosing to avoid flying because of Jota’s recent lung surgery.
