Brazil Chapecoense football team in Colombia air disaster

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A plane carrying 81 people, including a top Brazilian football team, has crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia.

Police say five people survived the crash but the rest died. Reports say a sixth survivor was found later.

The chartered aircraft, flying from Brazil via Bolivia, was carrying members of the Chapecoense team.

The team had been due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, against Medellin team Atletico Nacional.

The first leg of the final of the cup, South America's second most important club competition, was scheduled for Wednesday but has now been suspended.

The match was seen as the biggest in the history of the relatively small club, which entered Brazil's top division for the first time in 2014.

Shortly before boarding in Sao Paulo, Chapecoense manager Cadu Gaucho, 36, appeared in a video posted on the team's Facebook site [in Portuguese] describing the trip to Medellin as "the club's most important to date".

Playing in the final of the Copa Sudamericana was to be the highlight of a glorious season for the team from the small city of Santa Catarina, which has fewer than 200,000 inhabitants.

Founded in 1974, the team has only been playing in Brazil's Serie A since 2014 but is currently ranked ninth ahead of much more famous and established teams such as Sao Paulo, Fluminense and Cruzeiro.

Last week, it became the first Brazilian team in three years to make it to the final of the Copa Sudamericana after beating Argentine side San Lorenzo.

One of the founders of the club, Alvadir Pelisser, told BBC Brasil the tragedy had put an "end to everyone's dream". "We were a family, I'm shocked," he added.


_92706662_8f73ddc2-137f-4da9-a8d4-068c9701ad7dThe South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) said it was suspending "all activities".

Chapecoense issued a brief statement saying: "May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation."

It said it would refrain from any further statements until it had assessed the extent of the crash.

Later the team's vice-president, Ivan Tozzo, told cable channal SporTV: "There are a lot of people crying in our city. We could never imagine this. Chapecoense is the biggest reason for joy here."

Three of the survivors were footballers. They were confirmed to be defender Alan Ruschel, and goalkeepers Jackson Follman and Marcos Padilha aka Danilo.

Originally six survivors were reported but police said one of those rescued had died.

Reports say a seventh person was later pulled alive from the wreckage of the plane, believed to be defender Heilio Neto.

The sports network Telemundo Deportes tweeted (in Spanish) that Ruschel was in shock but conscious and talking, and asked to keep his wedding ring and to see his family.

His wife told Globo TV: "Thank God Alan is in the hospital. He's in a stable condition."

The team, from the southern city of Chapeco, was promoted to Brazil's first division in 2014 and reached the final last week after a victory against Argentina's San Lorenzo._92706667_colombia_plane_crash_624map