Overview
- A masonry wall fell onto Doutor Júlio Otoni street in Santa Teresa during strong winds, killing former footballer Tássio Maia dos Santos and a second person on Wednesday.
- Botafogo issued an official condolence confirming Tássio was a victim of the wall collapse and expressing solidarity with his family.
- Meteorological reports and local outlets said a cold front produced gusts over 100 km/h that knocked down trees, cut power and prompted a preventive closure of Santos Dumont airport.
- Authorities are continuing investigations into the incident and have not verified circulating claims that the death happened in a U.S. traffic crash or that a security‑camera video shows the event.
- Tássio retired in 2019 after a long journeyman career that included a 2015 spell at Botafogo and later ran an events hall in Santa Teresa, a neighborhood where older masonry walls can be vulnerable to extreme winds.