All those accused of the fire at Ninho do Urubu, Flamengo’s training center, were acquitted by the Rio de Janeiro courts. The tragedy, which happened in 2019, killed 10 teenagers who were sleeping in a container. Three others were seriously injured.
The decision was made by the 36th Criminal Court of the Capital District and signed by judge Tiago Fernandes de Barros. The defendants were charged with arson and serious bodily injury. Four other defendants had previously been acquitted.
According to Tiago Fernandes de Barros, the decision was based on “the absence of demonstration of criminally relevant guilt and the impossibility of establishing a safe causal link between individual conduct and the ignition”.
Those acquitted were: Antonio Marcilo Garotti and Marcelo Maia, who held administrative positions at the Training Center; Claudia Pereira Rodrigues, Danilo da Silva Duarte, Fabio Hilario da Silva and Weslley Gimenes, responsible for the containers where the victims were sleeping; Edson Colman da Silva, responsible for maintaining air conditioning units.
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The acquittal of all defendants for the fire at Ninho do Urubu is a silent cry of ten lives interrupted and families condemned to eternal pain. These boys dreamed of football, carried the Flamengo shield with pride and believed that the field would be the way to… pic.twitter.com/pvWYci2Br8
— Tribuna Rubro-Negra (@TribunaRN) October 22, 2025
The fire at Ninho do Urubu
The tragedy at Flamengo’s training center happened on the night of February 8, 2019, when a fire broke out in the accommodation for Flamengo’s youth athletes. The young people were temporarily sleeping in a container, when a fire started after an air conditioner that was on 24 hours a day failed. The flames would have spread quickly due to the material in the containers.
According to Rio de Janeiro city hall, Ninho do Urubu did not have an operating license at the time of the fire.
As a result, 10 teenagers, between 14 and 16 years old, died. Three others, Jhonata Ventura, Dyogo Alves and Cauan Emanuel, suffered serious injuries, but recovered and remain involved in football.
The victims were:
- Athila Paixão (14)
- Arthur Vinícius (14)
- Bernardo Pisetta (14)
- Christian Esmério (15)
- Gedson Santos (14)
- Jorge Eduardo Santos (15)
- Pablo Henrique (14)
- Rykelmo de Souza (16)
- Samuel Thomas Rosa (15)
- Vitor Isaias (15)
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