Pele laid to rest

BRASILIA, Brazil – January 5 (ONLINE) Mourners lined the streets in the coastal city of Santos, Brazil, on Tuesday as Pele’s body was transported in a black coffin from the Vila Belmiro stadium to the late football legend’s final resting place at the Necropole Ecumenica Memorial Cemetery.

A band greeted the casket as it entered the cemetery, playing a Catholic hymn and the team song for the local Santos football team, where Pele played for much of his career. Fans also serenaded the casket with samba music, as a tribute to the fallen sports star.

Pele was laid to rest in a 200sq metre mausoleum, near where his father, aunt, brother and daughter are interred. His burial place will be decorated like a football stadium, with images of his career highlights.

The burial marked the end of a 24-hour public memorial service for Pele, who died last week at the age of 82 after battling colon cancer for a year.

More than 230,000 people, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, had come to Santos to pay their respects to the three-time World Cup winner, who lay in an open casket on the midfield line of the Vila Belmiro stadium on Monday and overnight into Tuesday. His coffin was draped in the flags of Brazil and the Santos Football Club.