SEVEN members of a youth basketball team have died after their bus overturned as they returned home from a competition win in an early-hours accident.Several of the youngsters had been crowned champions in an U19 cup hours before the tragedy.The victims, aged between 15 and 22, were pupil or ex-pupils at schools and a higher-education institute in Juazeiro do Norte, a city in the state of Ceara in northeastern Brazil. Credit: Facebook
SEVEN members of a youth basketball team have tragically died in a horror bus smash on their way home from winning a competition.
The young team had been crowned champions in an U19 contest just hours before the harrowing accident.
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The crash happened after the driver fell asleep at the wheel, authorities reported Credit: X
Some of the passengers had not been wearing seat belts at the time of the smash Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
The seven victims have today been named, including Marcos Miguel da Silva, 22, Henrique Ferreira Bezerra, 17, João Paulo Sampaio de Alencar, 18, Luiz José de Morais Neto, 18, Cauã Rodrigues Fratta, 16, Jonatas Samuel do Santos Lopes, 15, and Matheus Henrique Ferreira Martins, 15.
Aged between 15 and 22, the victims were both students and alumni from numerous Brazilian schools in the city of Juazeiro do Norte.
Firefighters who attended the scene told police the bus driver had confessed to nodding off behind the wheel.
But in his police statement, the driver gave a different recount.
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Officers said he claimed to have lost control of the bus after attempting to avoid hitting an animal.
Police reported at least 40 other passengers, including athletes and coaching staff, were injured in the horrific smash.
The team bus had been travelling through the Taua municipality, returning from a tournament in Sobral, 360 miles north from the team’s home city.
According to investigators at the scene, the passengers were not wearing seatbelts.
When the bus rolled over, the victims were thrown from the vehicle and run over by the bus itself .
Emergency services rushed to the scene just before 3.30am on Monday morning after the alarm was raised.
Rescuers had completely removed all the bodies of the trapped players nearly five hours later.
Ceara governor Elmano de Freitas extended his condolences in a statement on social media.
“I received with deep sadness the news of the serious accident involving a bus on CE-187, between Taua and Quiterianopolis, which left people dead and injured,” he wrote.
“Among the passengers were young members of the basketball delegation.”
Four of the basketball players who were killed had played on the winning team for the 2026 Sobral Cup in the U19 division, and the fifth was part of the management team.
Two of the players had represented the U15 team that also competed.
City hall officials in Juazeiro do Norte have declared a period of mourning for the group.
“At this moment of immense pain, we stand in solidarity with the families, friends, athletes, members of the coaching staff, and the entire community of Juazeiro affected by this irreparable loss.,” a spokesperson said.
“Every life impacted by this tragedy represents dreams, stories, and futures that will never be forgotten.”
The Presidente Geisel Polivalente and Governador Adauto Bezerra schools – where the younger students attended – both cancelled classes on Monday for the school community to mourn.
Basquete Quixere, a basketball team based in the municipality of Quixere which is also in the state of Ceara, has also released a heartfelt tribute.
“We deeply regret the loss so early on in their lives of seven young athletes who left their homes in search of a dream and were returning having achieved it,” the statement read.
“We pray God comforts and gives their loved ones strength at this moment of great pain.”
