SAO PAULO: Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday paid tribute to seven teenage members of a rowing team who were among nine people killed in a road collision.
“There are no words to describe the pain of losing a son or a grandson,” Lula wrote on social media after the accident on Sunday night in Guaratuba in Parana state. “My feelings and solidarity are with the families and friends of the victims,” he added.
The rowers, aged 15 to 19 years old, were members of a club in Pelotas in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul who were returning from a competition in Sao Paulo. The two other victims were reported to be the van driver and the team coordinator. The van carrying the team was hit by a truck that apparently suffered brake failure, according to the Federal Highway Police.
