What we know about family killed in car crash in Portugal while holidaying from the UK
Domingos Serrano, 55, wife, Maria, 51, and their 20-year-old twin sons, Afonso and Domingos, died when their car was involved in a collision with another vehicle on a motorway near Castro Verde in southern Portugal, authorities have confirmed.
The family was living in Thetford, Norfolk, prompting a tribute from the local football club, where the sons played.
A 19-year-old woman - reported to be the girlfriend of one of the twins - and the driver of the other car was also killed in the crash.
What we know
The Serrano family are believed to originally be from the Mourão area of Portugal but were reportedly living in Thetford, in Norfolk.
They are understood to have regularly visited the south-east of Portugal for holidays and were travelling from Faro to Mourão when the crash happened.
The car they were in, reportedly a Nissan Juke hired from Faro airport, collided with another vehicle on Saturday on the IP2 motorway near Castro Verde, in the Alentejo region, killing the four members of the family and two others.
In a statement, the municipal council of Mourão declared two days of municipal mourning starting on Sunday.
It said: "The Municipality, in collaboration with the family and law enforcement agencies, especially the Castro Verde Local GNR Station, officially acknowledged the license plate of the vehicle in which they were traveling, confirming the identity of the passengers at 3:35 PM.
"The vehicle contained four occupants, all of whom were from Mourão, and a young woman related to the family. Residents of England, they were traveling from Faro to Mourão for their usual and well-deserved vacation."
It offered its condolences to the families and friends of the victims, and said all activities and events promoted by the municipality were cancelled throughout the weekend.
A tribute was also paid on the Thetford Town Youth Football Club, where the twins had played for the under-18s team.
The statement on its Facebook page - shared with a picture of the family - said: "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.
"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."
It added: "Partiram, mas numca serao esquecidos", which means: 'They are gone, but they will never be forgotten.'
What we don't know
Alongside the four Serrano family members, the exact identities of the two other people who died in the crash have not emerged yet.
Reports have suggested one was the girlfriend of one of the twin sons, named in some reports as a 19-year-old Polish national called Veronica, and the other the driver of the other car involved, who The Sun named as 36-year-old Ruben Goncalves.
The exact circumstances and cause of the crash have also not been revealed, though they are said to be under investigation.
While the Serrano family are believed to be from Mourão originally, and holidayed their regularly, they reportedly lived in Thetford in Norfolk.
It is not know exactly when or why they moved to the UK, and other than the sons' involvement in the local football club, other work or interests have not yet emerged.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
2 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
USAID Faulted for Oversight Gaps on Ukraine's Starlink Terminals
The US Agency for International Development failed to monitor whether Ukraine misused thousands of Starlink terminals the agency delivered to the country after Russia's invasion in 2022, according to an inspector general's report obtained by Bloomberg News. A draft transfer agreement prohibited 'military use' of the terminals, the report notes. They were delivered for use in hospitals, schools, communications and other civilian purposes. But shortly after the war began, allegations surfaced that Ukraine ' s military had weaponized the Starlink terminals and used them to pilot drones and target artillery strikes against Russian military equipment, vehicles and mobile command centers.
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Teacher who sent explicit pictures to 15-year-old boy banned for life
A teacher who sent explicit pictures of herself to a 15-year-old pupil has been banned from the profession for life. Georgia Lowe, 27, was caught when 'inappropriate' notes were found by the boy's mother. Her relationship with him began with late-night email sessions using emojis and nicknames, months after she started in the role, a Teaching Regulation Agency (TRA) panel heard. When the affair came to light, Ms Lowe was suspended by the school, but she contacted the pupil again, sending him sexual images of herself, the TRA panel was told. After resigning, the teacher was found guilty of engaging in sexual communication with a child and was handed a 14-month suspended jail term, the panel heard. Ms Lowe began working as a trainee teacher at Kingsmead School, Staffordshire, in July 2021. In September that year, when she was 'responsible' for the then 15-year-old, she began emailing him as late as 10pm, the panel was told. Her messages included heart symbol emojis, would often end with a kiss, and used nicknames, the panel heard. Ms Lowe wrote to the pupil using phrases like 'make me proud', 'try not to miss me too much' and 'you've already made my day', the TRA was told. In October 2021, the boy's mother found notes she believed were from Ms Lowe and reported her concerns to the school. An investigation was launched, and Ms Lowe was suspended, the panel heard. Despite having 'a warning shot across her bows', the teacher contacted the boy again, and sent him intimate photos, the TRA was told. Ms Lowe resigned in November 2021 and was charged by the police. She initially denied the charge before changing her plead to guilty on the day of trial, the panel heard. Ms Lowe was sentenced to 14 months jail, suspended for 18 months, and was put on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. In his sentencing remarks, the judge said Ms Lowe committed a 'gross breach of trust' and 'used the environment in which you were working with (the pupil) to pursue what was evidently your sexual interest in him'. 'You moved on to the passing of inappropriate notes to him, and ultimately, by the end of the period that we are concerned with, matters escalated to private digital communications between you and him, including you sending him images of yourself in your underwear,' the judge said. 'The concerning aspect of your case is that after matters came to light, by his mother having found out what was going on, you were spoken to, and yet you still had another face-to-face meeting with him at school, and ultimately, when the investigation was launched and you were suspended from work, you contacted him again, and that included the sending of the images of yourself to him. 'That was a warning shot across your bows, the investigation at school, and the suspension, but you did not bring your pursuit of him to an end at that point in time.' On behalf of the Secretary of State, decision maker Marc Cavey said Ms Lowe's behaviour was 'incompatible with working as a teacher'. He decided she should be prohibited from teaching indefinitely.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
The epicenter of stalking in sports? Why tennis stands apart
In April of 1993, Monica Seles and Steffi Graf were dueling for supremacy at the top of women's tennis. Graf had won eight out of the nine Grand Slam tournaments played between 1988 and early 1990, before Seles burst onto the women's tour and won eight of the next twelve. Their titles and their rivalry catapulted them into stardom — and danger. At an event in Hamburg, Günter Parche, a fan fixated on Graf, ran onto the court during a changeover as Seles played Magdalena Maleeva of Bulgaria. He stabbed Seles between the shoulder blades before being restrained. The physical and emotional toll kept Seles away from competitive tennis for over two years, and Seles, who looked predestined to win dozens of major titles, would win just one more in her career. Graf would win 22. That infamous moment stands out in tennis history, but it is also part of a pattern. A couple of years earlier, at the French Open, Graf's father punched James Levee, a wealthy man who had lavished gifts on a teenage Graf and then switched his attention to Seles, also a teenager. In 1990, another fan slit his wrists in front of Graf, while another broke into her home shortly after Seles' stabbing. Martina Hingis, Anna Kournikova and the Williams sisters — all high-profile players or rising phenoms — reported encounters with fixated people around the turn of the century; Grand Slam champions Maria Sharapova, Simona Halep and Caroline Wozniacki did so in the early 2000s. Three decades on from Hamburg in 1993, modern stars of the sport are experiencing more of the same. In February, at the Dubai Tennis Championships, Emma Raducanu broke down in tears mid-match after spotting a man who had given her a letter and asked for a photo the previous day. She'd noticed him at a number of her previous events as well. Six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Świątek was harassed in Miami this year when a man who had made threats online showed up and verbally abused her during practice. On the first day of this year's Wimbledon, Yulia Putintseva said she wouldn't continue her first-round match until a spectator she called 'dangerous' and 'crazy,' and who she feared had a knife, had been removed. Putintseva lost the match 6-0, 6-0. Katie Boulter was followed by someone in a car during a tournament; Danielle Collins had to deal with numerous fixated individuals, one of whom called her friends and family at work. Coco Gauff told reporters at the Madrid Open in April that someone tried to follow her and her dad to their home in Florida when she was 15. Athletes in all sports deal with fixated individuals, but women's tennis has been and continues to be the epicenter of the issue. People involved in the sport and stalking experts say that tennis has particular conditions and characteristics that make its players targets, regardless of the era. 'I think it's to do with the individuality of the sport, and then a combination of precociousness, attractiveness and visibility,' said a former Women's Tennis Association (WTA) executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity to maintain relationships in the sport. 'You put all those things together and women's tennis is a perfect storm for fixated individuals.' Tennis has always inspired a level of devotion to its stars, and no other sport has as many female icons. Whether it's on the ATP (men's) or WTA side, many fans define themselves by being for one player and against their rival. The growth of social media and the expectation that players should be accessible to their fans have only intensified this parasocial relationship. Players' match schedules and practice schedules are posted online and at events, making themselves easy to find in less guarded moments, with fewer people around than would be in a stadium for a match. And even at the biggest venues in the sport, courtside seating lets fans get very close to players, and they walk from place to place largely in public view. Pam Shriver, who was president of the WTA player council at the time Seles was stabbed, recalled the impact the incident had on the wider tennis world. 'What happened with Monica was so tragic and devastating that it forced change. We all became more aware to report any kind of behaviour that seemed obsessive, fanatical or threatening,' she said. 'Look, if you don't feel safe, you can't perform to the best of your ability.' Less than a third (29 percent) of stalking victims reported their situations to police in 2019, according to a study published by the U.S. Department of Justice. For myriad reasons, victims often choose to endure without alerting law enforcement or going public with their ordeal. Tennis players became more accustomed to speaking up in the wake of the Seles incident, and that may be the clearest reason women's tennis continues to be at the forefront of the issue. Its athletes are reporting problems and raising awareness at a higher rate than those in other sports. Raducanu has talked openly about her recent incident and one three years ago, when a 35-year-old man, Amrit Magar, was given a five-year restraining order after he walked 23 miles to her family home. She told reporters that 'in England it's pretty difficult for me to go out and about. Sometimes I've had neck pain from looking at the floor so much with a cap on.' In an interview with The Athletic, Collins said that the measures she took after her experiences with fixated individuals affected fans' perception of her. 'I really wanted my privacy for a long time after that,' she said, explaining that her decision to keep a low profile led some people to perceive her as cold or distant. Australian Open champion Madison Keys said in an interview in April that 'a handful of cases' at home had affected her everyday life, while world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka described asking for additional security at some events. And though it is largely women who are affected, male stars of the sport experience the impact of tennis' ripe conditions for parasocial relationships. Carlos Alcaraz, one of the most-trailed players in the sport, said in a news conference in June that while he feels safe at tournaments, he has felt uneasy on the streets among fans. 'There are some situations that I felt weird, let's say,' he said. As patterns of fixated behavior have changed, so too have the security measures that players and tournaments take. Those measures, while imperfect, have helped the sport identify and deal with problematic individuals. 'When we think about when my generation played, you had maybe a coach and an agent,' Seles told The Athletic. 'I didn't have six people in my box, so they have that extra layer of, I think, security.' In 2023, the WTA organization appointed Lindsay Brandon as its first dedicated director of safeguarding. The WTA, alongside the International Tennis Federation, the All England Club that operates Wimbledon, and the United States Tennis Association launched Threat Matrix. Developed by Signify Group, an AI firm, and supported by fixated threat specialists Theseus Risk Management and risk mitigation company Quest, the program monitors players' public social media accounts for abusive or threatening content. In its first full-year report released in June, it revealed that 15 cases had to be escalated to law enforcement. But how much dedicated security they can provide varies among events. The four Grand Slams — Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. Opens — partner with the tours and outside firms to manage security, while at smaller events, players might walk around sites with only their coaches for company. In the immediate aftermath of Parche's attack on Seles, tennis became more vigilant about security in a physical sense. Players' chairs were moved farther from stands and guards stood on courts during changeovers. But fans can still get incredibly close to players at events of all sizes — especially in the early rounds of Grand Slam tournaments, when the volume of matches puts some of the biggest stars in the sport on courts more akin to those at a small community club. Czech men's player Jiří Lehečka said he felt unsafe at the French Open during a match in May. Fans in the front row for his second-round match against Spain's Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Court 13 were so close that they were pinching his towels at the end of the match. 'I think it's unacceptable,' he told reporters in June. 'It's not about the towel, it's about that they have access to our personal things. I don't really think that this should happen.' The French Tennis Federation did not respond when asked about the incident. As Świątek found out, online abuse can also move into the physical world, where the diffusion of resources again takes over. A tournament like Wimbledon can work with national police, terrorism, and security authorities, along with the tennis tours' additional protocols. It has behavioral detection experts on hand to identify potential risks from fixated individuals, 24/7 closed-circuit television and foot and dog patrols. Smaller tournaments, further down the tennis ladder, do not have the resources to employ these kinds of failsafes — and even larger events have seen incidents slip through. The Dubai Tennis Championships, at which Raducanu was targeted, is a WTA 1,000 event, one tier below a Grand Slam. Ryan Trudgeon, a freelance close protection officer in the entertainment and sports world, remembers the job spec for the ATP Tour Finals at the O2 in London. He escorted players from their hotel to the venue, taking transport on a private boat and the London public transport system. 'You'd recce all the sites you're going to well in advance so that you know exactly where you're going,' Trudgeon said. 'It's all about situational awareness. Even if you're in a safe place, there's always a chance someone has bad intentions. If something feels off, it probably is.' The real challenge comes during a live match. 'You can't remove the principal mid-match,' Trudgeon said. 'Elsewhere, you could simply move them or investigate a suspicious person. Whatever the situation, it's a case of always being dynamic.' WTA chief executive Portia Archer said in a phone interview in March: 'Keeping our environment safe is an important priority for us. It's something we take very seriously.' But the sport cannot eliminate the characteristics that attract behaviors that tip from fandom into fixation without eradicating the essential nature that makes it one of the most captivating in the world. 'The knowledge out there is so much more. I mean, what happened to me has never happened before and knock on wood never will happen again,' Seles said. 'It hasn't happened in 30 years, so I hope never will.' This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Culture, Tennis, A1: Must-Read Stories, women's sports, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
