In the last few hours, shocking images have emerged from the traffic accident that claimed the lives of the Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, forward for Liverpool FC, and his younger brother, André Filipe Teixeira da Silva.
One of the recordings, captured by a driver, showed the fierce fire that followed the accident early Thursday morning.
Other images have revealed the condition of the Lamborghini in which they were traveling: completely burned, with fragments of the vehicle scattered across the asphalt and the surrounding vegetation also affected by the fire.
One of the videos, lasting just five seconds, brutally depicts the charred remains of the car, reduced to unrecognizable scrap.
In another, the work of firefighters and security forces can be seen, marking off the area, while skid marks still visible on the pavement reveal the desperate attempt to avoid the tragedy.
The accident: a fatal maneuver on the A-52
The accident occurred shortly after midnight Spanish time on Thursday, at kilometer 65 of the A-52 motorway, near the town of Cernadilla, in northwestern Spain.
According to initial reports from the Civil Guard, the car suffered a tire blowout while attempting to overtake another vehicle, which caused it to violently veer off the road, collide with the edge of the median, and ignite instantly.
The firefighters from the Rionegro del Puente station could only act to extinguish the flames and cool the area, as the vehicle was completely engulfed in fire upon their arrival.
The bodies of the two young football players were burned beyond recognition inside the car, making any rescue attempts impossible.
Only a few personal belongings were recovered, and thanks to them, the identity of the victims was confirmed.
A road trip compelled by medical reasons
Diogo Jota, 28 years old, was recovering after a recent lung surgery.
On medical advice, he was supposed to avoid flying, which is why he had decided to return to Liverpool by car, accompanied by his 25-year-old brother André.
They had planned to spend the night in Benavente and continue the next day to Santander, where they would board a ferry to Portsmouth, United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, they never reached their destination.
It was Jota's wife, Rute Cardoso, who alerted the authorities upon noticing that neither of them had arrived in Benavente.
Hours later, he received the belongings found in the wrecked car and painfully confirmed the tragedy.
The marriage had taken place just eleven days before the accident, after more than a decade of being together. They had three young children.
The Lamborghini: Speed and Vulnerability
The crashed car would be, according to various sources, a Lamborghini Huracán or Urus, both high-end models capable of reaching speeds over 300 km/h.
These are extremely powerful vehicles, valued at over 250,000 euros, and although it has not been officially confirmed whether it belonged to Jota or if it was rented, as specialized press has recalled in recent hours.
It is known that the football player was a well-known enthusiast of luxury cars. He had previously been seen driving a Tesla Model X and a Cadillac Escalade.
The initial hypotheses suggest that, after the tire blew out, the car may have violently collided with a barrier, which would have affected the fuel or electrical system, causing the fire.
It is also being investigated whether the friction of the tire against the asphalt produced sparks that ignited plastic components and tire debris, leading to fatal outcomes.
Repercussions and tributes
The football world reacted with immediate shock to the news.
Liverpool FC, the club Jota joined in 2020 after stints with Atlético de Madrid, FC Porto, and Wolverhampton, released a statement expressing that it is "devastated" by the loss.
At Anfield stadium, fans built an improvised mausoleum in his honor, and flags are flying at half-mast as a sign of mourning.
The president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, described the death as a “premature tragedy” that “has shocked all Portuguese people,” while Prime Minister Luís Montenegro expressed his solidarity with the family and the football community.
Cristiano Ronaldo, a teammate from the national team, posted on his social media:
"It makes no sense... We were just together on the national team, you had just gotten married. I know you will always be with them. Rest in peace, Diogo and André."
The former Liverpool coach, Jürgen Klopp, also shared his sorrow: “I have a broken heart. Diogo was a fantastic player, but above all, he was a great human being, husband, and father. We will miss you so much.”
Diogo Jota and André Filipe Teixeira da Silva shared more than just blood ties; they shared a passion for football and a promising future.
Jota, an international who has played 49 matches for Portugal, was part of the championship-winning team in the Premier League and in the Nations League.
Meanwhile, André was playing for FC Penafiel and dreamed of following in his older brother's footsteps.
Today, sports bids them farewell with tears and memories. The images of the destroyed car, which are now circulating around the world, have become a symbol of the tragic end of two young individuals who had everything ahead of them.
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