UK football club pays emotional tribute to twin brothers killed in Portugal horror crash

A British football team has paid emotional tribute to two twin brothers killed in a horror crash in Portugal minutes after their family had rented a hire car from the airport.

Domingos and Maria Serrano - and their twin sons as Domingos and Afonso - were travelling in a Nissan Juke they had just rented at Faro Airport when they were involved in a horror collision.

Thetford Bulldogs Football Club today paid tribute to twins Domingos and Alfonso.

The Norfolk club said in a Facebook tribute: "Yesterday the club received tragic news that former players Dom and Alfonso Serrano lost their lives in a car accident while heading to a summer holiday.

"Dom and Alfonso were part of our Bulldogs family under Jo and Tom before transitioning to senior football.

"Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with their families and loved ones during this devastating time."

It added in a separate post: "They will be sadly missed. Condolences to all their family. Rest in peace."

Heidi Smith wrote: "Absolute shock a lovely family and will be missed."

Michelle Jermy added: "Absolutely heartbreaking . Such a loss, condolences to all those grieving and thinking of family, friends and the wider community processing the pain from this sad news. Rest in peace."

Louise McLaughlin, from Thetford, said: "Absolutely heartbreaking. Rest in peace."

The family were travelling north from the Algarve towards Mourao in the district of Evora near the Spanish border.The tragedy happened around 1.40am Saturday morning on the IP2 main road in Castro Verde around halfway to their final destination.

The hire car they were travelling in caught fire after the crash and local reports said they had all burned to death, although it will be up to forensic experts to decide whether some or all of the occupants were already dead when flames took hold of the vehicle.

The Portuguese man travelling in the other car, 26-year-old Ruben Goncalves, has also been pictured locally.

Local reports said Ruben worked at a zinc-copper mine southeast of Castro Verde called the Neves-Corvo mine. He had a son aged around four.

Pictures from the crash scene showed the wrangled wreckage of one of the two vehicles involved in the accident on the wrong side of a crash in a field where a blaze took hold after the collision and had to be put out by firefighters.

The crash happened on a bend on the IP2 where signs shows the speed limit is 80kmh.