Plane carrying football team crashes in Colombia

A civilian plane carrying 81 people, including members of a Brazilian football club, crashed in central Colombia.

Image believed to be debris from the crashed plane. Photo: Twitter/Andres Felipe Arcos.

A LAMIA Bolivian plane carrying members of Brazilian football club Chapecoense Real crashed near Medellin, Colombia's second largest city, on the night of November 28 (around 05:00 GMT on November 29). There were 81 people on board, including 72 passengers and 9 crew members. The plane crashed while flying from Bolivia to Medellin.

"Confirmed, the plane with registration number CP2933 was carrying Chapecoense Real football club. It seems there are survivors," AFP quoted information posted on the Twitter account of Jose Maria Cordova de Rionegro airport. The specific casualties are not yet clear.

According to Colombian authorities, only six members of the football club survived.

"It appears the plane ran out of fuel," said Elkin Ospina, mayor of the nearby town of La Ceja. Authorities were on the scene, with local hospitals and medical centers ready to receive the injured.

Chapecoense players pictured before take-off. Photo: Twitter/Andres Felipe Arcos.

Chapecoense Real flew to Colombia to play against Atletico Nacional in the 2016 Copa Sudamerica. According to Brazilian press, members of theChapecoense RealThese were all on the ill-fated flight CP 2933 mentioned above.

Before takeoff, Chapecoense members posed for a photo on the plane. The photo went viral online after news of the plane crash broke.

Naciontal "deeply regrets the accident that happened to Chapecoense and is awaiting further information from the authorities".A video posted on Twitter shows the process of the plane losing its signal on radar.

Medellin airport said the crash site was only accessible by road due to bad weather. Colombia's civil aviation authority said its staff were at the airport to handle the situation.

Location of Medellin, Colombia. Graphics: BBC.

According to VnExpress.net