**WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT BELOW**

Lima, 24, who played for top-flight side Vasco da Gama, was believed to have been returning from a party on Saturday when the motorbike he was travelling on crashed into another bike.

Both vehicles lost control before hitting pedestrians.

Footage of the aftermath shows both motorbikes destroyed with victims sprawled out on the pavement.

Police sirens can be heard echoing throughout the area of the crash.

Horrified witnesses can be seen checking on motionless victims.

Local media reports Lima and Yuri Sergio Luparelli, 26, died in the accident.

The graphic scene shows shrapnel scattered all over the road while a crowd of onlookers forms.

The state's Secretary of Health informed that Lhorrainy F. Vasconcelos, 18, and Karolayne C. Almeida, 19, the footballer's girlfriend, are in a stable condition while Kesia Mara Rabello Torres, no age given, is in a serious condition.

CRASH: The star was killed in the horror motorbike crash

All are hospitalised in the Alberto Torres State Hospital.

The footballer's mother, Guiomar Barbosa, told reporters: "It's the biggest pain I have ever felt in my life."

His father Ubiracy Penha said: "He was always a great son, a boy who respected me a lot. We are all in shock. I don't know any details about the accident.

“I can say that he never liked motorbikes."

Lima, known simply as Thalles, played 157 matches for boyhood club Vasco da Gama, scoring 36 goals.

TALENT: The man was a talented footballer

He was loaned out to second-tier side Ponte Preta last season where he scored five goals in 19 matches.

The 24-year-old had represented Brazil at under-20 level.

Vasco Da Gama wrote on social media: "We are still very much in shock at the news of the accident and we deeply regret the death of striker Thales Lima de Conceicao Penha (sic).

"It is unclear if a police investigation into the crash has been launched. We hope his family and friends can stay strong in this difficult moment."

It comes after a motorbike gunman shot at a group of people outside a pub in Liverpool.

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