Heartfelt tributes have been paid to a family killed in a ‘fireball’ crash just hours after they rented a car while holidaying in Portugal.
Domingos Serrano, 55, and his wife Maria Serrano 51, alongside their twin sons Domingos and Afonso, both aged 20, tragically died at the scene near Castro Verde.
The family, believed to have been living in Thetford, Norfolk, were driving at around 1.40am on Saturday when their nissan Juke, rented just hours earlier at Faro Airport, hit another car on a bend.
The tragedy unfolded along the IP2 main road in Castro Verde where signs shows the speed limit is 80km/h.
The driver of the second vehicle involved, named locally as 26-year-old Portuguese mine worker Ruben Conclaves, also sadly died. The father-of-one had been driving south of the IP2.
Meanwhile, the 19-year-old Polish partner of one of the twins, identified locally by the first name Veronica, is also understood to have passed away following the collision.
Pictures from the crash scene showed the mangled wreckage of one of the two vehicles involved in the accident beside the road, with the vehicle initially said to have burst into flames.
Now, heartbreaking tributes have poured in for the family, who were living in the UK.
Thetford Football Club described twins Domingos and Afonso as ‘an integral part’ of the U18s team, saying that they wished to ‘pass on our sincere condolences to the Serrano family and the local Portuguese community’.
The Norfolk club added: ‘The loss of this lovely family will leave a massive void in the local community.’
Meanwhile, Thetford Bulldogs Football Club remembered the twins, both former players for the club, as part of the ‘Bulldogs family’.
They added: ‘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.’
The post concluded: ‘Partiram, mas nunca serao esquecidos,’ which translates to: ‘They are gone, but they will never be forgotten.’
The tragedy, was said by Mourau authorities to have taken place during the family’s ‘usual and deserved vacation’ as they travelled north from the Algarve.
Well-placed police sources said that the twins’ parents hailed from Mourao and were returning to the municipality for holidays.
Mr Domingos is also said to have celebrated his 55th birthday on Thursday just two days before flying to Portugal.
In a statement, Mourao’s municipal council confirmed the deaths, stating: ‘It is with great regret that the municipality announces this information, offering its condolences to the families and friends of the victims,’ it said.
‘In the car there were four occupants, of Mouranese nature, and a young woman with affinity to the family. Residents in England, [they] follow from Faro to Mourão, for the usual and deserved vacation.’
Following the incident, town hall chiefs in Mourao declared two days of mourning from Sunday, with several activities and events initially planned across the weekend immediately cancelled.
Devastated commenters have taken to social media to pay tribute to the family following the fatal incident.
One heartbroken social media user, understood to be a close friend of the family, wrote last night: ‘Rest in peace friend Domingos Serrano and family.’
Meanwhile, locals in Mourao also paid their respects to the family, with one user saying: ‘My most sincere condolences to all those killed. I hope their souls rest in peace.
‘It’s so sad to hear of people leaving their homeland and friends in search of a better life and then have their lives end like this. How unfair life is.’
Another commenter added: ‘My sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed.
‘Mourao must rally round to comfort the families of the victims.’
Shortly following the incident, a police source close to the ongoing investigation into the early-hours said: ‘The rental car was such a wreck officers could only recover half a number-plate and with that began working on trying to establish the identity.
‘A daughter of the couple killed alongside their twin sons, worried because she had heard about the crash in Portugal and was concerned because she couldn’t contact her loved ones, rang the police to speak about her fears it was her family involved.
‘With the information she gave them officers made checks with the hire car firm at Faro Airport and tragically discovered a match.
‘That was how they were able to confirm the identities of the five occupants in the car with the four members of the same family inside.’
The circumstances surrounding the fatal accident are being investigated by the GNR police force.
A spokesperson for Mourao’s Municipal Council previously said: ‘The Municipality, in coordination with the family and law enforcement authorities, namely the local GNR Post in Castro Verde, obtained the number plate of the vehicle they were travelling in and confirmed the identity of the passengers at 3:35 p.m today.
‘There were four occupants in the car, all from Mourao, and a young woman with ties to the family.
‘Residents of England, they were traveling from Faro to Mourao for their usual and well-deserved vacation.
‘It is with great sadness that the Municipality announces this information, offering its condolences to the families and friends of the victims.’
