The football world is shaken by the news that Lionel Messi – the living legend of world football – is said to have been present at the scene of the horrific tunnel collapse in downtown Los Angeles just minutes before the tragedy occurred.
From funeral to disaster
Earlier in the day, Messi suddenly appeared at the private funeral of striker Diogo Jota – a close colleague who had just passed away in a traffic accident in Portugal. The funeral was held privately with the presence of a number of football stars, in which Messi kept a quiet attitude, not answering the press.
Immediately after the funeral, sources said that Messi moved to the Clearwater project tunnel area – an underground project in the testing phase. It is unclear why he appeared here, but some witnesses eventually said they saw Messi entering the tunnel entrance area – before the communication signal was completely lost.
Messi’s family “collapsed”
Messi’s family issued a brief statement, with his wife – Antonela Roccuzzo – tearfully saying:
“We pray that this is not true. Pray that he is safe…”
A tense atmosphere covered social networks around the world. From Rosario (Argentina) to Barcelona, from Paris to Miami, millions of fans are sending prayers, sharing status lines with the hashtags: #PrayForMessi, #MessiTunnelCollapse.
Situation at the scene
Rescue teams have been urgently mobilized to the area. Police and fire forces have blocked off the entire area of the collapsed tunnel, but it is still not possible to confirm whether Messi is really trapped or not. Security cameras in the area are also being collected and analyzed.
