Portuguese national team footballer Diogo Jota dies in car crash alongside brother
A car carrying Portuguese national team forward Diogo Jota and his brother crashed in Spain. Both burned to death in the vehicle before rescuers arrived.
Photo: Timmy96, CC0 1.0
Spain’s A-52 highway near the city of Zamora became the site of tragedy — on the night of July 2, a serious car crash claimed the life of 28-year-old Diogo Jota, star of Liverpool and the Portuguese national team.
His brother, 31-year-old André Silva, was also in the vehicle. Both men burned alive when their car veered off the road and caught fire.
Rescue teams arrived too late — the vehicle was already engulfed in flames.
The emergency call came in around midnight. Witnesses reported a burning car, but none of the passengers survived. This was confirmed by the Provincial Council of Zamora.
Just a week and a half ago, Jota got married. He posted a photo on social media with the caption: “Forever like this.” He leaves behind three children. In recent days, he had been preparing to return to his club for preseason training.
The Portuguese Football Federation expressed shock and sorrow. Its president, Pedro Proença, described Jota not only as an outstanding player, but as a man with “infectious joy and a huge heart.”
In memory of the deceased, the Portuguese women’s national team will hold a minute of silence before their match against Spain at the Women's Euro.
Earlier it was reported that American investor of Polish origin Thomas Kokoshinsky died in Kraków following an accident in a restaurant — just days before he was set to invest his first million dollars into the football club Wisła.