A Plane Carrying Over 80 People, Including Members Of A Brazilian Soccer Team, Has Crashed In Colombia

Early Tuesday morning, a charter aircraft carrying 81 people crashed in Colombia. The passengers included members of the Brazilian Chapecoense soccer team, and details are still forthcoming with an initial report coming from this brief Al Jazeera clip. According to The Guardian, the plane was en route from Bolivia to Medellin when it experienced an electrical system failure. A statement from the Jose Maria Cordova airport provides details, including a report of at least six survivors:

“At the moment we know that the disaster happened in Cerro Gordo the municipality of La Union and that there were 72 passengers and nine crew aboard, including the football team Chapocoense Real. There are reported to be six survivors.”

The Telegraph increases the number of possible survivors to ten. Low visibility hindered immediate rescue efforts, including an air force helicopter that had to abort a first response attempt, but those passengers who are alive are reportedly arriving at the nearest hospitals.

The aircraft was transporting 22 members of the Chapecoense team to a Wednesday finals match before emergency struck. NBC adds that the aircraft crashed in a mountainous area near Medellin with Mayor Federico Gutierrez Gutierrez describing the event as “a tragedy of huge proportions.”

(Via The Guardian, The Telegraph, NBC News & Al Jazeera)

×