Police in Colombia have said 76 people were killed when a plane carrying members of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashed in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Only five persons survived. The sixth survivor later died in hospital.
A charter aircraft carrying 81 people including members of Brazil’s Chapecoense football team has crashed en route to Medellin airport
Initial reports said there were six survivors, including players and a travelling journalist, but police said one person had died in hospital. The plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members.
Chapecoense were flying to play a Copa Sudamerica finals match against Atlético Nacional on Wednesday in Medellin.
The Brazilian president, Michel Temer, offered his condolences to the friends and families of those on the plane in a series of tweets.
“I express my solidarity at this sad time when dozens of Brazilian families have been affected by tragedy,” he wrote.
“We are offering every form of help and assistance that we can to the families. The air force and foreign ministry have been put to work. The government will do everything possible to relieve the pain of these friends and families of Brazilian sport and journalism.”
Medellin’s mayor, Federico Gutierrez, described the crash, close to the town of Cerro Gordo, as a “tragedy of huge proportions”.
Bad weather was reported over the crash site and the search was later called off as heavy fog prevented rescue helicopters from landing.
The plane – a British Aerospace 146 short-haul aircraft – is believed to have started its journey in Sao Paulo, Brazil, at 3.35pm local time. It made a stop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a bustling economic hub in eastern Bolivia, later that day before setting off for Colombia.
