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Colombia plane crash live: Rescuers find survivors among wreckage

Seven of the 81 on board were pulled out alive - but one later died in hospital

Samuel Osborne
Tuesday 29 November 2016 08:00 GMT
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Colombia crash: 76 dead after plane carrying Brazilian football team crashes

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Officials say six survivors have been rescued from the wreckage of a chartered plane carrying 81 people, including the squad of a top Brazilian football team, which crashed outside the Colombian city of Medellin.

Latest updates:

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The crash occurred amid poor weather conditions as the plane was on its way to the city's international airport, and the country's civil aviation authority said ambulances and emergency workers had arrived at the scene.

Local authorities said there appeared to be survivors, and confirmed the plane was a chartered flight carrying the team of Chapecoense Real for the final of a regional tournament.

The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a charter airline named LaMia, declared an emergency at 10pm Monday (0300 GMT) because of an electrical failure.

"It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Medellin Mayor Federico Gutierrez told Blu Radio on his way to the site in a mountainous area outside the city where aircraft crashed.

The aircraft, which made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was transporting the first division Chapecoense soccer team from southern Brazil. The team was scheduled to play Wednesday in the first of a two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin.

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

South America's soccer federation extended its condolences to the entire Chapecoense community and said its president, Luis Dominguez, was on his way to Medellin. All soccer activities were suspended until further notice, the organisation said in a statement.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 12:30
Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 12:36

Brazilian President Michel Temer has declared three days of national mourning following the tragedy.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 12:39

Barcelona and Real Madrid held a minute of silence before their practice sessions in honor of the victims of the plane crash involving Brazilian club Chapecoense. 

Real Madrid also released a statement expressing its "condolences to relatives and friends of the victims" and "wishing an early recovery for the survivors".

Atletico Madrid used Twitter to send its condolences to the victims' relatives. One of Chapecoense's players on the plane was midfielder Cleber Santana, who played for Atletico from 2007-10. 

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 12:50

Colombia's civil aviation authority has released a statement confirming six people survived the crash.

They include Chapecoense players Alan Ruschel, Jackson Follmann and Zampier Neto. The team's goalkeeper, Danilo, was taken to hospital but died of his injuries.

Cabin crew member Ximena Suarez and flight technician Erwin Tumiri also survived, along with journalist Rafael Valmorbida (also named earlier as Rafael Hensel and Rafael Correa Gobbato).

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 13:35

Video shows Chapecoense celebrating win five days before plane crash

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 14:41

Carlos Iván Márquez Pérez, director of Colombia's disaster management agency, has been assessing the crash site.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 14:44

A team from the UK's Air Accidents Investigation branch will send inspectors to the crash site. The crashed plane was a British Aerospace 146.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 15:00

Fans are gathering outside the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco to pay tribute to the Chapecoense players who died in the crash.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 15:19

Colombia's civil aviation authority has shared photos of the plane wreckage, which also shows the white bags used to remove bodies from the crash site.

Samuel Osborne29 November 2016 15:38

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