A plane carrying 81 people, including members of a Brazilian soccer team, crashed on the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia, killing nearly everyone onboard.
Members of the Chapecoense soccer team were traveling from Bolivia to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana tournament when the plane crashed around 10 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 28. The aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members. At least 21 journalists were reported to be onboard the plane, including reporters from Fox Latin America, the Globo television network and news organizations from southern Brazil.
The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil's first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals after defeating two of Argentina's fiercest squads.
Six people have survived the flight. Later, a seventh passenger was rescued alive from the wreckage, but authorities reported that one of the initial six survivors, Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, died en route to the hospital.
The plane crashed in a mountainous area, which airport officials said was difficult to reach and could be accessed only by land due to weather conditions. The plane was about 18 miles from its destination when for reasons still unclear it went down in a mountainous area. Authorities said the plane had reported electrical problems as it flew near the towns of La Ceja and La Unión.
The tragedy stunned the soccer-mad nation of Brazil. President Michel Temer declared three days of national mourning and mobilized the foreign affairs and defense ministries to assist families of the victims. Brazil's embassy in Bogota was reaching out to families, and planes were made available to transport them to Colombia and to aid in the search and rescue effort.
The South America soccer confederation, Conmebol, said it had suspended matches after the accident and is following the situation.
In a statement on its Facebook page, Chapecoense said it would not release details on the crash until further information was provided by the Colombian Aviation Authority.
