Liverpool forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva died in a fire following a tragic car accident in Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning, with their identities being confirmed
Diogo Jota of Portugal poses for a photograph with the UEFA Nations League trophy after his team's victory in the UEFA Nations League 2025 final match between Portugal and Spain at Munich Football Arena on June 08, 2025 in Munich, Germany.
Diogo Jota has died in a car accident in Spain along with his brother(Image: Maja Hitij - UEFA, UEFA via Getty Images)
Diogo Jota’s identity was confirmed through a licence plate after the Liverpool striker tragically died in a fire following a car accident. Jota, 28, and his brother Andre Silva, 26, were killed in a crash on Thursday in Zamora, Spain.
Police stated that their Lamborghini had veered off the road due to a tyre blowout while overtaking another vehicle around 00:30 local time. The car then burst into flames, with harrowing images revealing the wreckage in the aftermath.
Firefighters were called to the scene to put out the blaze, which had spread to nearby vegetation. Despite the car being incinerated, their identities were confirmed through documents found at the scene and inside the vehicle, as reported by Jornal de Noticias.
It's understood that a licence plate was a crucial piece of evidence confirming the tragic deaths of the two professional footballers in the fire. Spanish news outlet La Opinion El Correo de Zamora stated that forensic experts performing the post-mortem examination on the bodies had to use DNA tests to confirm their identities.
Ángel Blanco, the Spanish government's sub-delegate in Zamora, explained that during the autopsy, attempts would be made to obtain fingerprints and DNA samples would be sent to Madrid for analysis and legal confirmation of the victims' identities. The post-mortem examination was carried out at the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences in Zamora.
La Opinion reported that the footballer's family made their way to the Institute of Legal Medicine around noon on Thursday. Jota's wife Rute Cardoso, who tied the knot with him merely 11 days prior to his death, is said to have identified them.
A view from the traffic accident of the Portuguese Liverpool player Diogo Jota who lost his life in Zamora, Spain on July 3, 2025. Portuguese footballer Diogo Jota, a forward for British club Liverpool, died early Thursday in a car crash in Spain at the age of 28.
A matching licence plate was found in the crash wreckage(Image: Anadolu, Anadolu via Getty Images)
Cardoso, who is also the mother of Jota’s three children, told police that the two brothers' intention was to spend the night in Benavente, northwest Spain, and continue their journey on Thursday to reach Santander before catching a ferry to Portsmouth.
Jota's widow was offered psychological support and her late husband's personal items saved from the fire were handed to her. It was one of the brothers’ relatives that realised they hadn't arrived at Benavente and checks later confirmed they were Portuguese nationals.
A spokesperson for the Civil Guard in Zamora said: "The investigation into the crash is being carried out by Civil Guard traffic officers. We believe the car suffered a blowout from the marks on the road.
Diogo Jota of Liverpool looks on during the Carabao Cup Semi Final Second Leg match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on February 06, 2025 in Liverpool, England.
Jota was just 28 and his younger brother only 26
(Image: Liverpool FC/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)
"The full police report once it is completed will be submitted to a duty court in Zamora which has launched an ongoing judicial investigation into this crash. That report is going to take time to complete, probably about four or five days but possibly longer.
"At this moment in time it is impossible to say at exactly what speed the car was going but that is something the Civil Guard investigators will be able to detail at least approximately in their final report from things like the skid marks.
"What I can confirm is that no other vehicle was involved and no-one else was hurt."
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