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A fire at the training centre of Rio de Janeiro football club Flamengo killed 10 people and injured at least three others on Friday, firefighters said.
- Flamengo is one of the best-supported clubs in Brazil and is famous globally
- The club made no statement except to tweet that it was in mourning
- The fire follows days of heavy rains across Rio de Janeiro that killed six people
The fire broke out at Ninho do Urubu, a state-of-the-art training centre that was expanded and opened only two months ago.
The facility has accommodation for teenage players, and authorities said they were most likely the victims.
"We are distraught," Flamengo president Rodolfo Landim said outside the complex, where friends, fans and neighbours gathered, some in prayer.
"This is the worst tragedy to happen to the club in its 123 years."
The club posted a tweet saying "O Flamengo, esta de luto [Flamengo is in mourning]".
Aerial footage showed corrugated iron roofs distorted by the fire and piles of charred items. Nearby trees were also scorched by the flames.
In a statement, the city said the area that burned was registered for parking, not as a dormitory. The statement said an investigation into the licensing process was under way.
Latin America's largest nation suffers from shoddy infrastructure, often exacerbated by lax oversight and endemic corruption.
Sebastian Rodriguez, the uncle of one of the players who died, 15-year-old Samuel Thomas Rosa, said his nephew never complained about the conditions.
"He never told me anything bad about the training centre," Mr Rodriguez said.
"He liked the environment and his teammates there."
Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella ordered three days of mourning, and President Jair Bolsonaro issued a statement lamenting the fire had taken "the young lives at the beginning of pursuing their professional dreams".
Passion for football runs deep in Brazil, and as news of the tragedy spread, many of the world's best players and top officials expressed condolences.
"It's a sad day for Brazilian soccer," tweeted Pele, the country's most famous player.
Chapecoense, a team in southern Brazil that lost 22 players in a plane crash in 2016, said on Twitter: "We are extremely sad and shaken by the news of the fire".
Vinicius Junior, the teenage Real Madrid forward who trained at the facility before joining the Spanish giants last year, tweeted his condolences.
"What sad News! Praying for everyone! Strength, strength, strength," he wrote.
Flamengo, the alma mater of players such as Zico, Junior and Leonardo, is one of the best-supported clubs in Brazil and is famous around the world.
Known by fans as the Red and Black, they won the Copa Libertadores, South America's version of the Champions League, in 1981 and lifted the Intercontinental Cup a few months later.
Former Brazil midfielder Zico, who lives outside Brazil, wrote on Instagram: "What a shock getting this news here on the other side of the world," he wrote.
"May the Red and Black nation have strength and faith to get through this moment."
Rival teams across Brazil, including fellow Rio sides Botafogo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama, tweeted their solidarity.
The fire follows days of heavy rains that hit the city and claimed at least six lives.
Reuters
Topics: disasters-and-accidents, fires, sport, soccer, community-and-society, death, brazil
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