Huge crowd lines the street as Costa Rican footballer eaten by a crocodile is laid to

A huge crowd lined the street in Costa Rica to accompany the coffin of football player Jesus Lopez Ortiz who was savaged by a crocodile while taking a dip in the river to cool off.

Crowds can be seen clapping and cheering, with some carrying instruments and white balloons, as a silver van holding the fallen athlete slowly edges forward during the nighttime procession in Guanacaste Province.

The mourners then followed the vehicle to an event where loved ones held up his trophies and portraits as they comforted one another.

‘Today we said goodbye to you “Chucho”; today, around a thousand people accompany you representing all your friends, family, and the entire country that was with you,’ Deportivo Rio Cañas, the football team for which he played, said in a Facebook post. 

Lopez Ortiz, whose nickname was ‘Chucho’, died aged 29 after he was mercilessly killed by the reptile on July 29 in a river in Río Cañas in Guanacaste.

Crowds can be seen clapping and cheering, with some carrying instruments and white balloons, as a silver van holding the fallen athlete slowly edges forward during the nighttime procession in Guanacaste Province

Father-of-two Jesus Alberto Lopez Ortiz, 29, was mauled to death while taking a dip in a river in the village he lived in 

At the funeral ceremony last week, Chucho’s mother gave thanks for all the emotional and financial support she has received since her son passed way.

‘There are no words, I know God will bless them… if it hadn’t been for them, I don’t know what I would have done,’ Giselle Ortiz Cubillo said.

Horrific images of the footballer’s death show the father-of-two fighting for life as he is carried away by the animal in its jaws.

Another clip shows the croc being shot dead in the water and carried to the riverbank, with local residents saying that they followed it in a canoe to recover Chucho’s body.

The footballer leaves behind his young children, who are aged three and eight.

Horrifying photos captured the killer croc carrying the footballer in its mouth as it swam

Local residents tracked the animal down and killed it so they could recover the footballer’s body

Costa Rican footballer Chucho (pictured) tragically leaves behind two young kids, aged eight and three

Deportivo Rio Cañas, the football team for which he played, posted on Facebook on the day of the funeral 

His team said in a social media post last week: ‘We will remember you in the many facets of your sporting life as a coach, football player and also as a family father. You will always live in our hearts Chucho, fly high friend.’

Costa Rica’s Ministry of Environment and Energy prohibits the hunting or killing of protected animals such as crocodiles.

It is not currently known if the department is looking into the locals’ decision to kill the crocodile so locals could collect the body.

Local police said in a statement: ‘It should be clarified that all efforts were made to rescue the body of the deceased person without causing damage to the reptile, which was not possible.’