plane crash kills 76 in Colombia,6 survive
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Plane crash kills 76 in Colombia, 6 survive
A plane crash has killed 76 people in Colombia, with six officially confirmed survivors. The plane - on its way to Medellin international airport - was carrying a first division Brazilian soccer team.
There are five confirmed survivors, Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of the civil aviation authority said, including three Chapecoense Real soccer team players, two crew members and one journalist.
One of the dead survived the crash, but died in hospital.
Colombian authorities said they have rescued a sixth survivor of the crash. "The rescue of a sixth survivor, player Helio Hermito Zampier Neto, who is in the process of being evacuated is confirmed. The possibility that other people will be found alive has not been ruled out," Colombia's disaster risk management agency said.
"Six people were rescued alive, but unfortunately one died. The rest of the occupants unfortunately died. The tragic toll is 76 victims," Jose Gerardo Acevedo, regional police commander, told journalists.
Brazilian TV channels Globonews and SporTV identified the surviving players as defender Alan Ruschel, goalkeeper Danilo - who later died in hospital - and reserve goalkeeper Jakson Follmann.
The survivors have reportedly been brought taken to a hospital in the town of Le Ceja, local authorities said, quoted in Colombian newspaper El Colombiano's online edition.
The flight was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, according to authorities. Brazilian news organizations reported 21 journalists had been on board.
Rescue operations at the site were suspended in the early hours of Tuesday morning amid heavy rain, Medellin airport said.
The pilots of the plane were reportedly having problems with the electronics system before the accident, the airport authorities said on their Twitter feed. They said the plane had declared an emergency at 10 p.m. Monday (0300 UTC Tuesday) due to an electrical failure.The head of Colombia's civil aviation agency said later that authorities aren't ruling out the possibility the chartered flight ran out of fuel before crashing.
The crashed aircraft was a British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane operated by Bolivian charter airline Lamia, authorities said.
A civilian aviation database website reported that the plane made its first flight on March 1999. From 1999 to 2007, it was owned by Mesaba Aviation in the US and has been in the hands of Bolivian airline LAMIA since October 2013.
British Aerospace, which is now known as BAE Systems, says that the first 146 plane took off in 1981 and that just under 400 -
including its successor Avro RJ - were built in total in the U.K. through November 2003. It says around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services.
including its successor Avro RJ - were built in total in the U.K. through November 2003. It says around 220 of are still in service in a variety of roles, including aerial firefighting and overnight freight services.
A tragedy of huge proportions
"It's a tragedy of huge proportions," Medellin's mayor, Federico Gutierrez, said while traveling to the crash site in a mountainous area outside the Colombian city.
Chapecoense had been due to play Atletico Nacional for the Copa Sudamerica finals in Medellin on Wednesday.
The Chapecoense team comes from southern Brazil
Brazil's President Michel Temer expressed his grief for the victims of the 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."
ls/kl/jbh (dpa, EFE, AP)
ls/kl/jbh (dpa, EFE, AP)
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