Firefighters say 10 people have died in an early morning fire at a training facility of one Brazil’s largest soccer clubs.
The fire happened Friday at the Ninho do Urubu training ground of Flamengo soccer club in western Rio de Janeiro.
Firefighters said the victims have yet to be identified. Local media reported that the fire happened in a dorm where youth players sleep.
Images from Globo TV from a helicopter showed smoke emerging from a charred area.
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Like many professional clubs in soccer-crazed Brazil, Flamengo has a youth development program for promising young players in their early teens. Many players stay at the facilities while training.
“The kids from the Flamengo youth team were sleeping there at the time,” firefighter Douglas Henaut told Globo News.
The fire followed days of heavy rains that hit the city and killed at least six people.