Twin brothers, 11, found dead in Ter river; Manlleu mourns

Two 11-year-old twin brothers from Ghana were found dead in the Ter river in Manlleu (Barcelona) on Tuesday, July 14, after they went missing while playing football the previous evening. The Mossos d'Esquadra recovered the first body around 1:00 PM and the second about an hour later Source: ABC, El Mundo. The boys, who lived with their parents in Manlleu, had not returned home after going to a nearby football field at sundown on Monday Source: La Vanguardia.

The search

Police launched a search operation Monday night after the parents reported the disappearance. The Mossos deployed drones and a subaqueous unit to comb the river and its banks Source: Euronews. Around 11:30 AM on Tuesday, officers found clothing matching the boys' description near the river Source: El Confidencial. The bodies were later located in the riverbed and have been taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences of Catalonia for autopsies and formal identification through fingerprints Source: El Mundo.

The reaction

The Ayuntamiento de Manlleu declared two days of official mourning and held a minute of silence at 8:00 PM on Wednesday, which hundreds of residents attended Source: Infobae. Catalan president Salvador Illa expressed being "conmocionado" (shocked) by the tragedy and offered condolences to the family Source: El Confidencial. The town hall asked for "respeto, discreción y sensibilidad" and urged against spreading unverified information Source: La Vanguardia.

The main hypothesis is accidental drowning, though the investigation remains open Source: ABC, El Confidencial.