A chartered plane carrying Brasileiro side Chapecoense to "the biggest game in its history" crashed in the Colombian mountains, killing 75 people on board, authorities said, according to Builes & Whitaker of REUTERS. Dozens of bodies "were laid out and covered with sheets around the wreckage of the BAe 146 aircraft, which was lying in mud near La Union," a small town outside Medellín. The plane went down at about 10:15pm on Monday night with 72 passengers and a crew of nine. It was "unclear what caused the crash, although local media said the plane had reported an electrical fault shortly before it disappeared off radar screens." A Reuters photographer said that the plane "split in two, destroying the tail end." Rain "hampered the dozens of rescuers as they combed the muddy and forested area." Colombia's civil aviation head, Alfredo Bocanegra, said that there were 75 confirmed fatalities, with six injured survivors. He added that the death toll "could rise" (REUTERS, 11/29). The BBC reported Chapecoense "had been due to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana," against Medellín-based Atlético 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." Organizers said that Atlético Nacional has asked for Chapecoense to be awarded the cup. Playing in the final of the Copa Sudamericana was to be "the highlight of a glorious season for the team from a small city of less than 200,000 inhabitants in the state of Santa Catarina." One of the founders of the club, Alvadir Pelisser, said that the tragedy had put an "end to everyone's dream." He added, "We were a family, I'm shocked" (BBC, 11/29).
SIX SURVIVE: In London, Burke, Palazzo & Griffin reported images broadcast on local TV showed "three passengers arriving to a local hospital in ambulances on stretchers and covered in blankets." Among the survivors was a Chapecoense defender named Alan Ruschel, who doctors said suffered spinal injuries. Two goalkeepers, Marcos Danilo and Jackson Follmann, as well as a member of the team's delegation and a Bolivian flight attendant, also survived the crash. Danilo, however, "died a short time later." Bocanegra said that initial reports "suggest the aircraft was suffering electrical problems" although investigators were also looking into an account from one of the survivors that the plane "had run out of fuel about five minutes from its expected landing" at José María Córdova airport outside Medellín. A Chapecoense board member said, "This morning I said goodbye to them and they told me they were going after the dream, turning that dream into reality. The dream was over early this morning" (TELEGRAPH, 11/29). In London, Jones, Phillips & Lang reported Brazil "has declared three days of national mourning" (GUARDIAN, 11/29). The EFE reported Chapecoense "had to change its flight to Colombia due to a decision by the Brazilian aviation authority, which prevented the club from traveling to Medellín on a charter flight." This forced Chapecoense "to travel on a commercial airplane and make a stop in Bolivia" (EFE, 11/29). OLÉ reported "in Argentina, there is a fact that makes the crash generate even more terror: the plane that crashed is the same that transported the Argentine national team to Belo Horizonte to face Brazil in a 2018 World Cup qualifier." It "was also used by Messi and Co. to travel from Belo Horizonte to San Juan, Argentina, for a match against Colombia." The plane belongs to LAMIA, "which operates out of Bolivia and provides transportation for several football federations and clubs in the region" (OLÉ, 11/29).
