An aircraft carrying 81 people, including Brazilian football team, Chapecoense, has crashed in the mountainous region of Colombia. The plane was approaching Medellin in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Local police have so far confirmed five survivors of the crash, three from the Brazilian team.
Disaster
The chartered plane from Brazil to Colombia was carrying members of the Chapecoense football team who were to play the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin’s Atletico Nacional.
The game, due to take place on Wednesday, has been canceled and the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) is suspending “all activities”. In the history of the relatively small Brazilian football club, reaching the final of the Copa Sudamericana is its greatest achievement.
The tragedy not only affects the victims and their families, but an entire country is left in mourning today.
A statement from Chapecoense was brief and tinged with sorrow:
“May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation.”
The southern Brazilian city of Chapeco is in a state of shock. Brazilians take their football very seriously and the team’s vice-president, Ivan Tozzo, stated that Chapecoense is “the biggest reason for joy here.”
Three of the confirmed survivors are from the Chapecoense team and named as defender Alan Ruschel, and goalkeepers Marcos Padilha and Jackson Follman. In the freezing, mountainous conditions of the crash site, it is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of the survivors were highly trained athletes in peak physical condition.
The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members and was run by charter airline, Lamia. It was flying from Brazil to Medellin, with a stopover in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
A Fairy Tale Ends in Tragedy
The small team from Chapeco was dubbed the “Cinderella” of the Brazilian league and had recently been promoted to the first division, Serie A, for the first time in 2014.
Reaching the final of such a prestigious cup was an amazing adventure and achievement for this small team, brutally ending in disaster. Police still continue to work at the crash site but have now confirmed 76 dead. The causes of the crash are being investigated after the pilot reported an electrical fault.
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