Plane taking Brazilian soccer team to cup final in Colombia crashes, 71 dead
The plane slammed into a mountainside near Medellin on Monday night as the team flew to face Atletico Nacional for the Copa Sudamericana, which is South America's equivalent of the Europa League.
It was Colombia's worst air disaster in two decades and there were only six survivors.
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| Wreckage from a plane that crashed into Colombian jungle with Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, is seen near Medellin, Colombia, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Fredy Builes |
Global soccer was stunned with tributes pouring in from major figures from Pele to Lionel Messi.
The BAe 146 charter plane, en route from Bolivia where the team had a stopover, went down about 10:15 p.m. on Monday night with 68 passengers and a crew of nine on board.
The aircraft had reported electrical problems and declared an emergency minutes earlier as it neared its destination, Medellin airport officials said.
At the crash scene near the town of La Union in wooded highlands outside Medellin, dozens of bodies were laid out and covered with sheets around the wreckage.
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| Rescue crew work near the wreckage from a plane that crashed into Colombian jungle with Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, seen near Medellin, Colombia, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Fredy Builes |
The tail end of the plane virtually disintegrated in the crash. Rain hampered dozens of rescuers as they combed the muddy and forested area.
In addition to players, coaches and staff, 21 journalists had been on board the plane to cover the match, Brazilian news organizations said.
"We felt a loud, strong thud," said German Lopez, 44, who grows flowers on the mountain range and could see the white wreckage from his kitchen.
"We ran to search for survivors. I saw someone die on a stretcher but helped save someone who was unconscious. I started to cry. I didn't want my home known for this."
Colombia's civil aviation authority identified the six survivors as players Alan Ruschel, Jackson Follmann and Hélio Neto; journalist Rafael Valmorbida; Bolivian flight attendant Ximena Suarez; and Bolivian flight technician Erwin Tumiri.
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| Fans of Chapecoense soccer team are pictured in front of the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil, November 29, 2016. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker |
Neto and Valmorbida were in "very delicate but stable" condition in intensive care, Dr. Guillermo Molina, head of a clinic treating them, told Reuters. Neto suffered trauma to his head, thorax and lungs, as well as open wounds to his knees.
Ruschel also was in intensive care but in stable condition, Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez, director of another clinic also attending them, told Reuters. The two members of the flight staff were out of danger and under observation, she said.
Follmann had his right leg amputated, RCN radio reported, citing Chapecoense spokesman Gelson Dalla Costa.
Two black boxes were recovered from the crash site, Colombia's government said.
