Brazilian football was in mourning on Friday after 10 people died when a fire ripped through a youth training facility at the country's most popular club, Flamengo, authorities said. The pre-dawn blaze in Rio de Janeiro hit a building that housed players aged 14 to 17, firefighters said. In addition to the deaths, three people were injured in the fire. The cause was not immediately known.
"Flamengo is in mourning," the club wrote on its social media accounts.
Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in semi-intensive care in hospital following surgery on his abdomen, said he felt "the families' pain." In a statement shared by the presidency, he added that he was dismayed by "this tragedy... which has taken the lives of young people who had started the journey towards realizing their professional dreams."
Brazil's biggest football star Neymar, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain in France, posted a picture on his Instagram account of the Flamengo club badge with the words: "My sympathies."
Teenage Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior, who came up through the youth ranks at Flamengo before signing with the European Champions in 2017 for 45 million euros ($52 million), posted a message on Twitter asking people to pray for the victims. "Just by thinking about the days and nights I spent in the training center gives me goose bumps," said the 18-year-old. "I still can't believe it. Let's pray for everyone."
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