The father of a ‘lovely’ British family killed in a car crash in Portugal celebrated his 55th birthday just days before he died. Tributes have been paid for the Serrano family
A “lovely” UK family was tragically killed in a devastating car crash as they began their holiday just days after one of them celebrated their birthday.
Domingos Serrano, 55, his wife Maria, 51, and their 20-year-old twin sons Domingos and Afonso died at the scene after the Nissan Juke they were in, a vehicle they had hired from Faro Airport, hit another car and burst into flames. The 19-year-old Polish partner of one of the twins, who also lives in Britain and has been identified locally only by her first name of Veronica, also died in the horror collision.
The awful crash took place on a bend in a main road close to the town of Castro Verde. The family were heading from Faro to Mourao around three hours drive north by Spain’s border with Portugal where the dead man and his wife hailed from. It comes after the family was named and pictured following the horror crash..
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Town hall chiefs in Mourao have declared two days of mourning starting from today. The crash also claimed the life of a Portuguese man who was travelling alone in the second vehicle.
All four family members were British passport holders and the twins are understood to have been born in the UK. It is not known how many years ago their parents left their homeland to move to the UK.
Domingos, believed to live in Thetford, Norfolk, had celebrated his 55th birthday on Thursday just two days before flying to Portugal. The twins both played an “integral” role for their local football club Thetford Town Youth FC, which has expressed its condolences in a moving tribute.
“Thetford Town Football Club would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the Serrano family and the local Portuguese community after the recent tragedy while on holiday,” the club said in a social media post. “Afonso and Domingo’s were both an integral part of our U18’s team in recent years, both brothers sadly passed away in Portugal with their parents and friends in a tragic car accident.
“The loss of this lovely family will leave a massive void in the local community.” The club statement added the Portuguese words “partiram, mas numca serao esquecidos”, which translates to “they are gone, but they will never be forgotten”.
The statement was met with a deluge of tributes from locals and admirers. Catia Vieira commented in response: “Oh no… so hard to see this! Rest in peace family… we will always remember you all with your smiles.”
Gemma Armes wrote: “Heartbreaking… such a lovely family. Thoughts are with family and friends.”
Health worker friend Eunice Ilheu Bibiu wrote on social media late last night: “Rest in peace friend Domingos Serrano and family.”
Shocked locals in Mourao also took to social media to express their shock and upset at what had happened. Tania Marques Da Cruz said: “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.”
Cesar Caleiro wrote on Facebook: “My sincere condolences to the loved ones of those killed. Mourao must rally round to comfort the families of the victims.”
A police source close to the ongoing investigation into the early-hours accident 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 state of the wrecked rental car and the bodies of its occupants are said to have hampered initial attempts to identify them before a frantic call from the UK-based daughter of the couple killed in the crash. 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.
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 barrier in a field where a blaze took hold after the collision and had to be put out by firefighters.The road where the accident occurred, at a spot where the speed limit is 80kmh, just over 20mph, wasn’t reopened until just after 7am yesterday morning.