Brazilian Serie A Team Chapecoense Plane Crashes In Colombia

What a sad day in the world of football as a plane carrying  Brazilian serie A team, Chapecoense, has crashed in Colombia.

Medellin's international airport said on its Twitter account that the aircraft, carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, had left from Bolivia.

Local media has reported that the charter aircraft was carrying members of the Brazil Serie A side, who were scheduled to play in the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico National in Medellin on Wednesday.

Jose Maria Cordova de Rionegro airport, which serves Medellin, said in a statement that "all possible aid was being mobilized because six survivors are being reported".

The mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutierrez, has said 25 bodies have been found.

Colombia's civil aviation association said rescuers were moving survivors away from the site of the crash.

A hospital official told reporters there were "many" survivors.

It has been confirmed that a defender, 27-year-old Alan Ruschel, has survived. Local media reported that goalkeeper Danilo and reserve goalkeeper Jakson Follmann had also survived.

In a statement on its Facebook page, the club said: "May God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation."

The plane had declared an emergency due to power failure before losing contact with the control tower. Colombia has been hit by heavy storms which are hampering rescue efforts.

Atletico Nacional has tweeted to express its sympathies. The South American football federation has suspended all games following the news from Colombia.

"The site of the accident is only accessible by land due to climatic conditions and low visibility," a statement from the airport said.

"The Colombian Air Force deployed a search and rescue helicopter which had to cancel the mission due to the adverse conditions.

"According to the authorities the police are mobilising all possible help since they are reporting six survivors."

It is believed the plane came down in a mountainous area outside Medellin shortly before midnight local time.

Mayor Gutierrez said: "It's a regrettable situation.

"I can confirm that this is the plane where the players were and right now we are following the events.

"We have the necessary team coming from Medellin - ambulances, medical staff - and the important thing here is to understand that there are survivors and we are saving lives.

"We are doing all we can in this very regrettable and sad situation."

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