Fire at Brazilian youth soccer facility kills 10 and injures 3
RIO DE JANEIRO — Fire tore through the sleeping quarters of an academy for one of Brazil’s most popular professional soccer clubs Friday, killing 10 people and injuring three, most likely teenage players, authorities said.
Firefighters were called just after 5 a.m. to the sprawling Ninho de Urubu training grounds of the Flamengo soccer club in Rio de Janeiro’s western region. Overhead images captured by a camera-equipped drone showed a smoky, charred area of the complex.
“We are distraught,” Flamengo president Rodolfo Landim said outside the complex, where friends, fans and neighbors gathered, some forming a circle to pray. “This is the worst tragedy to happen to the club in its 123 years.”
“Flamengo is in mourning,” the team said on its Twitter account.
The cause of the fire was not known.
Rio Mayor Marcelo Crivella called for three days of mourning, and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro issued a statement lamenting the loss of the young athletes “at the beginning of pursuing their professional dreams.”
Two of the injured youths were hospitalized in stable condition and one was in critical condition, a Rio de Janeiro state official said. The ages of the injured were 14, 15 and 16, according to a fire official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of agency rules.
Several people who appeared to be relatives entered the complex without speaking to reporters. Some were crying.
“These boys suffer so much in pursuing their dreams” of becoming professional players, said Caros Eduardo Araujo, a fan who left a bouquet of flowers at the gate of the complex. “I’ve been shaking since I heard the news.”
Samuel Barbosa, 16-yearold who survived the fire, told Globo TV news that smoke filled the dorm.
“Most didn’t make it because there was so much fire,” he said.
Like many professional clubs in Brazil, Flamengo has a development program for promising young players. Many, particularly those who live outside Rio, live at the facilities while training.
Flamengo is perhaps the most famous club in the country, with an estimated 40 million fans nationwide. Supporters are so attached to the academy team that players have a motto for them: “Flamengo makes legends at home.”