Former Botafogo player and friend die after wind collapses wall in Rio; video

Images circulating on social media show the exact moment the structure gives way and hits the two men, as well as a car that was parked on the sidewalk. In the video, it is also possible to see four people walking along the street at the moment of the collapse, including at least one child. As soon as the wall begins to fall, they run to try to escape and, soon after, disappear amidst the large cloud of dust caused by the impact.

A post shared by Alerta Rio (@alerta.rio)

Revealed by São Cristóvão, Tássio played as a center forward and built a career in professional football between 2002 and 2019. Throughout this period, he played for several Rio football clubs, but gained greater national recognition when he was hired by Botafogo, in 2015.

For the black and white club, he played six official matches and scored one goal. After ending his career as an athlete, in 2019, when he left Ferroviário, he started working at Mansão Alvite Santa Teresa, an event house located right on the street where the collapse occurred. Vandré Cordeiro was also an employee of the same establishment.

On social media, Botafogo paid tribute to the former center forward and mourned his death.

With immense regret, Botafogo regrets the death of former athlete Tássio Maia dos Santos, who wore our shirt in 2015, at the age of 41. Tássio was the victim of a wall collapsing during the strong wind that hit Rio de Janeiro, this Wednesday. In this moment of… pic.twitter.com/e0GBOqupbs

The tragedy occurred amid strong gusts of wind that hit several regions of the state of Rio de Janeiro throughout Wednesday. According to the State Secretariat for Civil Defense and the Military Fire Department, as of 7pm, 31 rescues had been carried out in different municipalities.

Firefighters also reported that a fisherman was still missing in Tarituba, district of Mambucaba, on Costa Verde Fluminense, and that teams remained mobilized for the search.

According to the report released by the corporation, 185 incidents related to winds had been recorded up to that point across the state. Of this total, 93 involved cutting down trees, 31 were calls to rescue people and five were related to collapsing structures.

In a statement, the Fire Department confirmed that the two deaths recorded in Santa Teresa occurred as a result of the collapse of the wall. The corporation also reported that it remains on alert, with teams, ambulances, operational vehicles and vessels mobilized to respond to events caused by weather conditions, in addition to maintaining the search for the missing fisherman in Tarituba, in the district of Mambucaba.