- A charted flight carrying a Brazilian first division soccer team, Chapecoense, along with officials and journalists, crashed in Colombia.
- Reports say 76 people have been killed, including crew members, with only 5 survivors.
- The team was on its way to the finals of a regional tournament.
- The South American football federation suspended all games and other activities, including the South American Cup final, following the crash.
- Rescue operations for survivors at the site of the plane crash were suspended in the early hours of Tuesday morning amid heavy rain.
- Brazil’s President Michel Temer on Tuesday expressed on his grief for the victims of the plane crash.
Brazil’s President Expresses Grief
Brazil’s President Michel Temer on Tuesday expressed on his grief for the victims of the plane crash.
“I express my solidarity in this sad hour during which tragedy has beset dozens of Brazilian families,” Temer said in a statement, adding that Brazil's Foreign Ministry and Air Force were working to assist the relatives.
“The government will do all it can to alleviate the pain of the friends and family of sport and national journalism.”
76 Dead, Only 5 Survive
Members of Chapocoense, the Brazilian football club, were among the 72 passengers and 9 crew members on board the aircraft that crashed in Colombia on its way to Medellin's international airport. The primary reason cited for the crash, that took place around 10 pm local time, was low fuel.
There are conflicting reports on the death toll. While Reuters reports that 71 have died, including most of the team and the accompanying journalists, AP reports that 76 have been killed.
Local media reported that the charter aircraft, which had deported from Bolivia, was carrying members of the football team which was scheduled to play Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico Nacional on Wednesday in Medellin.
Of the total 81 on board, only 5 survived. The survivors include footballers Danilo, Follmann, Alan Rushel, journalist Rafael Henzel and crew member Ximena Suárez, according to local media reports. They are currently undergoing treatment at a hospital in La Ceja.
Colombia Plane Crash Rescue Ops Halted Due to Heavy Rain, Says Airport
Rescue operations at the site of the plane crash were suspended in the early hours of Tuesday morning amid heavy rain, Medellin airport said.
The operations had begun immediately after the crash.
According to AFP, the Jose Maria Cordova de Rionegro airport, which serves Medellin, said in a statement that “all possible aid was being mobilised because six survivors are being reported”.
Rescue teams, from firefighters to disaster management officials, pressed in to the search for survivors, added the director of disaster management for the province of Antioquia.
Poor weather conditions made the crash site accessible only by road, airport authorities in Medellin – where the plane was scheduled to land – said on Twitter.
Fog, cold and rain make the search operations more difficult.Coronel Pineros, Risk and Rescue Commission
Authorities and rescuers were immediately activated, but an air force helicopter had to turn back due to low visibility owing to harsh weather conditions.
“It’s a tragedy of huge proportions,” Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city, where the chartered aircraft is believed to have crashed.
