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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Matthew Weaver and Bonnie Malkin

Colombia plane crash: Fans gather to mourn Chapecoense footballers among 75 killed – as it happened

Plane carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense football team crashes in Colombia – video report

We’re wrapping up our coverage of the Colombia plane crash, but here are some further stories we have published on Tuesday on the tragedy.

Chapecoense fans mourn plane crash victims at football stadium

Hundreds of Chapecoense fans have gathered at the football club’s stadium in Chapecó, Brazil, to mourn the players and staff killed in a plane crash in Colombia and await the latest news. Members of the crowd wore the team’s colours and brought flags and flowers to leave in tribute to the victims. At one point the fans began to recite the Lord’s Prayer together.

Brazil has declared three days of mourning after a plane carrying the Chapecoense football team crashed in Colombia, killing 75 players, journalists and crew members.

British investigators are flying to Colombia to help establish what caused the plane carrying the Chapecoense football team to crash. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau said it was sending a team as the Avro RJ85 aircraft was built in the UK.

Updated

Summary

Here’s a summary of what we know so far:

  • Brazil’s president Michel Tamer has declared three days of national mourning after a plane carrying the Chapecoense football team crashed in Colombia, killing 75 people on board.
  • At least six people, including three players – Alan Ruschel, Jakson Follman and Zampier Neto – survived the crash. The goalkeeper Danilo was initially reported to have survived but died from his injuries, according to reports.
  • Two crew members – Ximena Suárez and Erwin Tumiri – and the journalist Rafael Valmorbida also survived, according to Colombia’s civil aviation authorities.
  • Those killed on the flight included 21 journalists travelling with the team for Chapecoense’s Copa Sudamerica finals match against Atléticao in Colombia’s second city, Medellín. The plane was en route from Bolivia to Medellín.
  • The plane, a British Aerospace 146 was given priority to land but did not reach the airport, according to Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority. It lost contact with ground controllers at around midnight.
  • It is unclear why the plane crashed. The weather was stormy when the plane went down. There has been unconfirmed speculation that there may have been an electrical fault or that it ran out of fuel.
  • As the plane was made in Britain, a team from the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch is sending inspectors to the crash site. Questions have been raised about why a team request to fly direct from Brazil, instead of from Bolivia, was rejected by Brazil’s civial aviation authority.
  • Bad weather hampered rescue efforts, which had to be briefly suspended due to heavy rain. Daylight images from the site showed rescue workers carrying away shrouded bodies of those killed in the crash.
  • Football teams across the world have been expressing their condolences.
  • The mayor of Medellín said the crash was “a tragedy of huge proportions”. Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, offered support and sympathy to the families of those killed.

Updated

Some truly heartbreaking stories are now emerging from Brazil about the lives of the victims, Tom Phillips reports.

Globo Esporte, a Brazilian sports website, is reporting that one of the dead players, Thiaguinho, found out he was to be a father for the first time just one week before the crash.

The family of the 22-year-old striker has released the following tribute video in which he can be seen celebrating the news with his teammates:

Colombia’s Red Cross has distanced itself from reports that the goalkeeper Danilo survived the initial impact of the crash. It confirmed that he died from his injuries. It pointed out that an initial list of survivors that included Danilo and that it tweeted, was based on a list issued by Colombia’s civil aviation authority.

Updated

Carlos Iván Márquez Pérez, the director of Colombia’s agency for disaster risk management, UNGRD, has been touring the crash site.

Updated

Footage from Chapecoense’s Facebook account shows the team checking in at Guarulhos airport in São Paulo before the crash.

Brazilian team Chapecoense at airport before plane crash in Colombia – video

Manchester United’s Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea has tweeted his shock at the crash. He said he used to share a locker with one of the victims, Cleber Santana.

Updated

Six survivors named

Colombia’s civil aviation authority has confirmed the names of six people who survived the crash - not five as previously reported.

The surviving players are named as defenders Alan Luciano Rushel and Helio Hermito Zampier, and the goalkeeper Jakson Ragnar Follman. It does not name the team’s other goalkeeper Danilo, who is believed to have survived the initial impact but died of his injuries.

The other survivors are named as crew members Ximena Suárez and Erwin Tumiri, and journalist Rafael Valmorbida.

Updated

Fans of Chapecoense soccer team react in front of the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil.

Hundreds of fans have gathered at Chapecoense’s stadium, the Condá Arena in the city of Chapecó, according to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.

According to its reporter, the crowds have come wearing the team’s colours and carrying flags and flowers to leave in homage the victims. At one point the fans began to recite the Lord’s Prayer together.

Igor Damo, a local priest, told the newspaper: “There isn’t much to say right now. We have be praying lots and hugging each other. It is a time for hugs.”

Fans of Chapecoense soccer team are pictured in front of the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco, Brazil.

Updated

An injury that sidelined Chapecoense player Alejandro Martinuccio from the trip to Medellín ended up probably saving his life, AP reports.

Speaking to Argentina’s La Red radio, the winger said: “I was saved because I got injured.” But he said: “I feel profound sadness … The only thing I can ask is prayers for the companions who were on the flight.”

The 28-year-old has played for Spain’s Villarreal, Penarol of Uruguay and Brazilian clubs Coritiba, Ponte Preta, Cruzeiro and Fluminense.

Updated

Colombia’s civil aviation authority confirms the names of five people who survived the crash. Its updated list does not include Danilo the goalkeeper, who is reported to died from his injuries. It does include defender Zampier.

Rescue workers continue to pick through the wreck of the plane.

Rescuers search for survivors from the wreckage of the LAMIA airlines charter plane carrying members of the Chapecoense Real football team.

The broadcaster Telemedellín has more daylight images of the crash site:

Updated

Summary

Here’s a summary of what we know so far:

  • Brazil’s president Michel Tamer has declared three days of national mourning after a plane carrying the Chapecoense football team crashed in Colombia killing 76 people on board.
  • At least five people – including the players Alan Ruschel and Jakson Follman – survived the crash. The team’s goalkeeper Danilo survived the crash but died from his injuries, according to reports. There are unconfirmed reports that the defender Zampier Neto may also have survived the crash. Two crew members also survived.
  • Those killed on the flight included 21 journalists travelling with the team for Chapecoense’s Copa Sudamerica finals match against Atléticao in Colombia’s second city, Medellín. The plane was en route from Bolivia to Medellín.
  • The plane, a British Aerospace 146 was given priority to land but did not reach the airport, according to Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority. It lost contact with ground controllers at around midnight.
  • As the plane was made in Britain, a team from the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch is sending inspectors to the crash site. Questions have been raised about why a team request to fly direct from Brazil, instead of from Bolivia, was rejected by Brazil’s civial aviation authority.
  • Bad weather hampered rescue efforts, which had to be briefly suspended due to heavy rain. Daylight images from the site showed rescue workers carrying away shrouded bodies of those killed in the crash.
  • Football teams across the world have been expressing their condolences.
  • The mayor of Medellín said the crash was “a tragedy of huge proportions”. Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, offered support and sympathy to the families of those killed.

Updated

Globo, Brazil’s biggest news channel, is now also reporting the death of goalkeeper Danilo. He is reported to have survived the crashed but died in hospital.

Citing the local Red Cross, Globo said that Danilo died from his injuries.

Updated

Daylight images of the crash site show the extent of the damage to the plane as rescue workers recover the bodies of those killed.

Police officers and rescue workers search for survivors around the wreckage of a chartered airplane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area outside Medellin, Colombia,
Police officers and rescue workers search for survivors around the wreckage of a chartered airplane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area outside Medellín, Colombia. Photograph: Luis Benavides/AP
Rescue workers carry the boris of victims of an airplane that crashed in La Union, a mountainous area outside Medellin, Colombia,
Rescue workers carry the bodies of victims away from the crash site. Photograph: Luis Benavides/AP

Updated

Three days of mourning declared in Brazil

Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, has declared three days of national mourning following the crash.

Updated

Who are Chapecoense? This Guardian video explains:

Who are Chapecoense, the football team involved in the Colombia plane crash?

A Reuters photographer at the scene said dozens of bodies were laid out and covered with sheets around the wreckage as some 30 rescuers, police and military personnel searched the crash site of the plane that had had 81 people aboard.

He said the BAe 146 charter aircraft had split in two with only the nose and wings recognisable and the tail end completely destroyed in the crash on Monday night.

A plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashes in Colombia.
A plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashes in Colombia. Photograph: MiOriente

There are unconfirmed reports that the team’s goalkeeper Danilo died in hospital after surviving the crash.

He was listed as one of six survivors by the Colombia’s civil aviation authority. Earlier police said one of the survivors died in hospital.

The plane that crashed was a British Aerospace 146, so UK experts are flying out to the crash site as part of the investigation.

A spokesman for the UK’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said: “As the State of Manufacture of the aircraft, the AAIB is sending a team of inspectors to Colombia to assist with the investigation of the aircraft accident at Medellin.”

He pointed out this is in line international protocols.

The head of Chapecoense’s board has given a tearful interview on Brazilian breakfast news show Bom Dia Brasil, writes Tom Phillips.

Plínio David de Nês Filho, the president of Chapecoense’s board, said those close to the club were devastated by what had happened.

De Nês Filho was supposed to take the same flight but in the end made other plans.

He said: “There were lifelong friends on this flight ... and we think it will have been very hard for them to have survived this accident.

“This wasn’t just a group of people who respected each other professionally. It was a family, a group of friends.

“Everybody laughed so much, even in defeat... There was a great atmosphere, great joy. Yesterday morning, when I said goodbye to them, they said that they were going off to make our dreams come true. We shared this dream with all our emotion. And in the early hours of this morning, that dream came to an end.”

The Colombian news site MiOriente has footage of a sixth survivor being taken away on a stretcher.

Colombia’s civil aviation authority has given the names of six survivors.

Earlier police said one of the six survivors died in hospital. This is not mentioned in the civil aviation authority tatement.

In gave updates on six survivors in a statement posted on Facebook. It says two crew members, Ximena Suárez, a flight attendant, and Erwin Tumiri, a flight technician, have been taken to the Somer clinic in Rionegro.

Three players - Alan Luciano Ruschel, goalkeepers Jakson Ragnar Follmann and Marcos Danilo Padilha - are also in hospital, the update says.

A journalist, Rafael Hensel, is in the La Ceja hospital, it added.

It does not mention defender Zampier Neto, who also may have survived according to an unconfirmed report.

Note: There was no Rafael Hensel mentioned on the passenger list, Sam Jones points out. Earlier Reuters confirmed that a Rafael Corréa Gobbato was one of the survivors.

Updated

There are unconfirmed reports of a sixth survivor. The Colombian news site Noticias Caracol says defender Zampier Neto also survived. Officials say they have not given up hope of finding more.

Updated

Questions are already being asked in Brazil about why the Chapecoense team were on the flight from Bolivia to Colombia in the first place.

The UOL Esporte website is reporting that Chapecoense officials had sought to charter a direct flight to Medellín from Brazil but that the club had its request rejected by Brazil’s civil aviation authority, Anac.

Updated

Three Chapecoense players who did not travel to Colombia have been pictured in a state of shock in the club’s changing room.

Updated

Three players survived, Colombian authorities confirm

Three Chapecoense players survived the crash, the Colombian authorities have confirmed to Reuters.

Alan Luciano Ruschel, Marcos Danilo Padilha and Jakson Ragnar Follmann were listed as survivors in a statement from the disaster management agency.

Passengers Rafael Corrêa Gobbato and Ximena Suárez also survived.

All five were being treated at hospitals near the crash site.

Updated

Spanish football clubs have been offering their condolences to the families of those involved in the crash, writes Sam Jones in Madrid.

“Deeply shaken by the accident involving the plane in which @ChapecoenseReal and our former player Cléber Santana were travelling,” tweeted Atlético Madrid.

“Our condolences to the families of those who died in the @ChapecoenseReal plane accident. May they rest in peace.”

FC Barcelona tweeted: “All our support and solidarity to the victims and families affected by the @ChapecoenseReal tragedy in Colombia.”

Updated

Brazil’s president, Michel Temer, has offered support and sympathy to the families of those killed.

“I express my solidarity at this sad time when dozens of Brazilian families have been affected by tragedy,” he tweeted. “We are offering every form of help and assistance that we can to the families. The air force and foreign ministry have been put to work.”

Updated

Raimundo Colombo, the governor of Santa Catarina, where the Chapecoense team is based, has issued a statement expressing his profound regret.

Colombo noted that Chapecoense were not only representing the city of Chapecó and the state of Santa Catarina, but were also making history as the first club from the region to reach the final of an international competition.

He said he was in “state of shock” and expressed his solidarity with the families of the players, club officials and journalists who formed the delegation “at what is a time of great pain for the sporting community in Santa Catarina and in Brazil”.

Nivaldo, a Brazilian goalkeeper who has been at the club since 2006 but did not travel to Colombia, told the UOL Esporte website that he was woken at 5am this morning by a phonecall from a worried friend who wanted to know if he was on the flight.

Nivaldo said he had tried to call his teammates and other club staff who were on the plane but that nobody picked up the phone.

The wife of one Brazilian survivor has used Instagram to express her relief. Amanda Ruschel, who is married to Alan Ruschel, the first player to be taken to hospital, posted an image of the player alongside the message:

“Thank God Alan is in the hospital, stable. We are praying for all of those who were not yet rescued and offer our support to all their relatives. This is a complicated, difficult situation. Only God himself can give us strength. 🏻 Thank you God.”

Updated

The five survivors were the three players – Danilo, Jakson Follman and Alan Rushel – plus the journalist Rafael Henzel and crew member Ximena Suárez, according Martin Mazur for El Grafico.

Updated

The Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who plays for the Portuguese club Porto, is among many in the football world who have expressed their sympathies.

“My condolences on the crash of the plane carrying Chapecoense. A tough moment for football. Be strong and brave,” he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile, Chapecoense fans have been gathering at the team’s stadium.

Updated

21 journalists were among 81 on board, reports say

Jose Gerardo Acevedo, a regional police commander, has confirmed the death toll and the number of survivors.

“Six people were rescued alive, but unfortunately one died. The rest of the occupants unfortunately died. The tragic toll is 76 victims,” he told reporters.

Officials told local media that bodies would be removed once the sun rose, according to Reuters.

Brazilian news organisations reported that 21 journalists had been on board.

Brazilian TV channels Globonews and SporTV identified the surviving players as defender Alan Ruschel, goalkeeper Danilo and reserve goalkeeper Jakson Follmann. It was not immediately possible to confirm names of the other survivors.

Updated

Summary

Here’s what we know so far:

  • A charter plane carrying 81 people – including 22 players from the Brazilian football club Chapecoense, crashed in Cerro Gordo, Colombia.
  • Police say 76 people were killed, and five survived. One of the dead, survived the crash, but died in hospital.
  • Three members of the team are among the surivors, according to unconfirmed reports. They are Danilo, a 31-year-old goalkeeper; Alan Ruschel, who was being treated for very severe injuries; and Jakson Follmann.
  • The plane was given priority to land but didn’t reach the airport, according to Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority. It lost contact with ground controllers around midnight.
  • The plane was en route from Bolivia to Medellín airport in Colombia, where the team was due to play in the Copa Americana.
  • Bad weather is hampering rescue efforts, but an estimated 90 emergency services workers are now at the crash site.
  • Football teams across Brazil have been praying for the Chapecoense club.
  • The mayor of Medellín said the crash was “a tragedy of huge proportions”.

Updated

Death toll confirmed as 76 by Colombian police

Colombian police have now said 76 people died in the crash. One of the six survivors died in hospital, police told Radio Caracol.

Updated

Colombian police have also confirmed there were 5 survivors. It said the rest of passengers were killed, AP reports.

That leaves just one of those on board unaccounted for. There have been unconfirmed reports that a female member of the crew also survived.

Updated

Colombian officials have confirmed that 75 people died in the crash, writes Sam Jones.

Commander José Gerardo Acevedo of Medellín police said that 75 people died in the accident involving the team.

Updated

What we know so far – video bulletin

Here’s a video report rounding up all that we know so far about the crash.

Plane carrying Brazil’s Chapecoense football team crashes in Colombia – video report

Updated

Video has emerged on Twitter purporting to show the Chapecoense team celebrating the win that sent them to the first leg of Copa Sudamericana final against the Colombian side Atlético Nacional.

Updated

Colombian civil aviation authorities have not confirmed the police official’s statement that up 75 are feared dead. But they have said a high death toll is “undeniable”, according to Reuters.

Updated

The Brazilian football confederation said in a statement that it was praying for the passengers and crew.

Updated

Up to 75 people are feared to have died, according to a Medellín police official.

Updated

Heavy rain is reported to have forced rescue workers to suspend their search until dawn.

Reuters has more:

Rescue operations at the site of a plane crash in central Colombia were suspended in the early hours of Tuesday morning amid heavy rain, Medellín airport said.

Authorities were looking for survivors after an aircraft with 81 people aboard, including players from Brazil’s Chapecoense football team, crashed late on Monday.

“Search and rescue of the crashed Chapecoense plane is suspended because of heavy rain in the accident area,” Medellín airport, where the plane had been set to land, said on Twitter.

Updated

The plane was given priority to land but did not reach the airport, according to Alfredo Bocanegra, the head of Colombia’s civil aviation authority. Speaking to Blu Radio, he said: “The plane reported an emergency on approach. It was given priority to land but then contact was lost.”

It is unclear why the plane failed to make the runway. One unconfirmed report said it ran out of fuel; another said there was an electrical fault.

Updated

AFP: Five survivors, 25 bodies recovered

Agence France-Presse is reporting that five people survived the crash. Citing an official, it also says 25 bodies have been recovered from the crashed plane.

Updated

At least 25 killed, mayor says

At least 25 people are now feared to have died in the accident, according to the mayor of La Ceja.

Elkin Ospina told Blu Radio: “It seems certain that quite a large number of people have died; they’re talking about 25 to 27 dead.”

Updated

Colombia’s civil aviation authority has published a full passenger list on its Facebook page, writes Sam Jones.

Images have been published on Colombian media appearing to show substantial parts of the crashed plane.

The Estado de Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s top broadsheets, has more details on those travelling on the plane, writes Tom Phillips.

It says Mário Sérgio Pontes de Paiva, a well-known figure in the world of football, was among those on board.

Paiva, best known in Brazil as Mário Sérgio, played and managed top clubs such as Corinthians, Atlético Mineiro, Botafogo, São Paulo and Palmeiras, and had been working as a football commentator in Brazil for Fox Sports, having retired from the game.

Updated

The online Spanish newspaper El Español has a bit more on the known survivors, writes Sam Jones.

It confirms that Chapecoense player Alan Ruschel was the first survivor of the crash to be taken to hospital. It says Ruschel, 27, arrived by ambulance at a hospital in La Ceja. Shortly afterwards, a female crew member arrived and is said to be in a stable condition. The third survivor is reported to be one of the team’s goalkeepers, Danilo.

Updated

The Colombian news site MiOriente has footage of rescue workers searching for debris with torches at the crash site.

More injured players are reported to have been taken to hospital.

Chapecoense has put out a brief statement on its Facebook page saying it won’t be giving comments until more is known about the crash, writes Sam Jones.

It says:

“Given the conflicting reports emerging from different journalistic sources concerning the crash of the plane carrying the Chapecoense players, the Chapecoense football association through it vice-president, Ivan Tozzo, is refraining from comment and awaiting official announcements from the Colombian air authorities. May God be with our athletes, leaders, journalists and the other guests who are with the delegation.”

At least 25 people were killed in the crash, according to a local mayor cited by journalist Martin Mazur.

Alan Ruschel, the first Chapecoense player to reach hospital, is being treated for severe injuries: multiple bone fractures, including of his hip, lacerations to his head, and head trauma, according to Brazilian journalist Thiago Borbolla.

Updated

There are unconfirmed reports that Danilo, the team’s 31-year-old goalkeeper, is among the survivors.

A Medellin-based journalist has tweeted this photograph of doctors waiting to receive the wounded in a hospital in La Ceja.

Updated

What we know so far

Hello, I am about to hand over the blog to my colleague Matt Weaver who will keep you updated with all the latest developments from Colombia. Here is a summary of what we know so far:

  • A charter plane carrying 81 people has crashed in Cerro Gordo, Colombia.
  • The plane was carrying 22 players from the Brazilian football club Chapecoense.
  • It lost contact with ground controllers around midnight and reportedly tried to make a forced landing.
  • The plane was en route from Bolivia to Medellin airport in Colombia, where the team was due to play in the Copa Sudamericana.
  • Six people have reportedly survived, including player Alan Ruschel, who is in hospital. Several sports journalists are also believed to have been on board.
  • Bad weather is hampering rescue efforts, but an estimated 90 emergency services workers are now at the crash site.
  • Football teams across Brazil have been sending out their prayers to the Chapecoense club.
  • The mayor of Medellin said the crash was “a tragedy of huge proportions”.

Updated

According to Colombia’s Caracol Radio, there were also eight Chapacoense executives on the flight, three guests of the club and 21 journalists.

First images of the crash site

A Colombian news website has published the first confirmed pictures of the rescue operation.

The photographs show dozens of rescue workers on a hillside in darkness.

“This is the site of the air crash in La Unión,” the MiOriente website said in a tweet accompanying the pictures.

Poor weather hampers rescue effort

Heavy rain has made the rescue operation difficult, according to Medellin airport authorities.

According to the local news site mioriente.com, La Unión’s fire chief has said that at least 10 people are being tended at the accident site. A state of emergency has been declared in the area and two Colombian air force helicopters have begun searching for more survivors.

“Getting the injured out is difficult because this is a very woody area,” Hugo Botero López, the mayor of La Unión, is quoted as saying by El Tiempo.

López said there were more than 90 rescue workers already on the scene from places including La Unión, Rionegro, El Carmen de Vibroal and La Ceja. “But it is not easy getting those who are alive out of there.”

Elkin Ospina, the mayor of La Ceja, said 30 police, fire and Red Cross vehicles had been deployed to the site.

Luis Fernando Rodríguez, the medical chief of the San Juan de Dios clinic in La Ceja, told mioriente.com: “We trying to coordinate with other hospitals in the area to see what our capacity is given the complexity and the volume of patients who could arrive.”

Updated

At least 22 Chapecoense players were onboard the plane - report

Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper says there were at least 22 players on board the plane.
They are: Danilo, Follmann, Gimenez, Dener, Alan Ruschel, Caramelo, Marcelo, Filipe Machado, Thiego, Neto, Josimar, Gil, Sérgio Manoel, Matheus Biteco, Cleber Santana, Arthur Maia, Kempes, Ananias, Lucas Gomes, Tiaguinho, Bruno Rangel, Canela.

Ruschel, a 27-year-old defender from Taquara, in Rio de Janeiro, is reportedly in hospital.

A 23rd player, who the newspaper did not name, was supposed to have travelled with the team but did not.

Updated

More tributes are coming from Brazilian football teams. Flamengo tweeted: “Strength @ChapecoenseReal! United in one heart! Flamengo and the nation are together with you!”

This tweet from Flightradar shows the plane’s flight path before the crash.

A video published on the team’s Facebook page shows the team readying for the flight earlier on Monday in Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport.

The Facebook post has become the focus for an outpouring of tributes and prayers for the players from fans.

“I am from Rio de Janeiro and I am praying for you. May God and Our Lady send their angels to take care of you all,” writes one.
“May God keep them all alive,” says another.
Others express anger at reports that the plane ran out of fuel. “We cannot accept this,” writes one. “Let us pray that they all get out alive.”

Updated

Six people 'may have survived'

Medellin airport authorities have released a statement, saying six people may have survived the crash.

The statement says that at 10pm yesterday a plane travelling from Santa Cruz in Bolivia declared an emergency because of electrical failures between the municipalities of La Ceja and la Unión.

A rescue operation involving local police, firefighters and the Colombian air force was immediately launched. Police are now at the site of the emergency, which can only be reached overland because of poor visibility.

“At the moment we know that the disaster happened in Cerro Gordo the municipality of La Unión and that there were 72 passengers and nine crew aboard, including the football team Chapocoense Real. There are reported to be six survivors,” it reads.

Updated

Another top Colombian team, Barranquilla’s Junior, has reacted to the accident on Twitter. “We are praying for Chapecoense and the whole crew and we are beside you at this difficult time. All Junior supporters are with you,” it says.

Here’s a map of where the plane is believed to have crashed:

Cerro Gordo map

Updated

Hospitals on 'maximum alert'

El Tiempo is also reporting that hospitals in the region of the crash site have been placed on “maximum alert”.
Medics in hospitals in places such as San Juan de Dios are reportedly preparing to receive patients, “given the possibility that they might have to treat injured people who are thought to have survived the plane crash”.

Updated

81 people on board - report

Colombia’s El Tiempo newspaper says there were 81 people on board the plane, made up of 72 passengers and 9 crew.

Updated

Chapecoense’s opponents in the next leg of the Copa Sudamericana have tweeted to say they are “profoundly sorry” and “stand in solidarity” with the team after the accident. The tweet said the team was waiting for information from authorities.

Updated

Plane made 'forced landing'

The website of Record, another major Brazilian news channel, reported that the plane had made a “forced landing” in the region of Antioquia in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time.
Record said the missing plane had started its journey in Sao Paulo at 3.35pm local time. It made a stop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, a bustling economic hub in eastern Bolivia, later that day before setting off for Colombia.

Updated

Plane lost contact with ground controllers after midnight

Brazilian media, citing reports from Colombia, said the plane lost contact with ground controllers shortly after midnight and had either crashed or made an emergency landing shortly before it had been scheduled to arrive.
Globo, a Brazilian news website, said that Colombia’s air force had sent a helicopter to the area where the plane is thought to have gone down, to attempt a rescue.
Citing Colombia’s TV Caracol, Globo said the controllers had lost contact with pilots as the plane flew over the cities of La Ceja and Aberjorral.

Updated

The airport authorities have confirmed that the code for the plane that went down is CP-2933.

Martin Mazur has tracked down a photograph of it.

My colleague Mike Hytner, Guardian Australia’s sports editor, has some details on Chapecoense:

Chapecoense were on their way to play in the first leg of Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian side Atlético Nacional. The match was scheduled to be played in Medellin on 30 November, with the second leg back in Brazil on 7 December.

The team, based in the city of Chapecó in the state of Santa Catarina, play in Brazil’s premier division, Série A. The club was founded in 1973 and first won promotion to the top flight in 2014.

As of last weekend, when they fell to a 1-0 defeat away at already-crowned champions Palmeiras, Chapecoense were ninth in the table after 37 games played. They were scheduled to conclude the domestic season against Atlético Mineiro on Sunday.

The Copa Sudamericana is South America’s second tier club competition, one rung below the Copa Libertadores. The winner of the Copa Sudamericana gains automatic entry into next season’s Copa Libertadores, the centrepiece of the continent’s football calendar.

The final, like each round of the tournament, is a two-legged tie, consisting of a home and an away fixture.

This season Chapecoense had already travelled to Argentina twice, drawing with Independiente and San Lorenzo, and Colombia once, where they lost to Junior 1-0, but progressing on aggregate in all three fixtures.

Updated

Plane carrying 72 people – including the Chapecoense team – goes down over Colombia

Hello, welcome to the blog. We will be pulling together information and updates after a charter aircraft crashed en route from Bolivia to Medellin airport.

What we know so far:

  • The plane was carrying the Chapecoense team from Brazil, who were on their way to Medellin to take part in the Copa Sudamericana.
  • As a rescue operation gets under way, the mayor of Medellin has said it is possible that there are survivors.
  • Chapecoense were on their way to play in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Colombian side Atlético Nacional. The match was scheduled to be played in Medellin on 30 November.

Here is the full report:

Updated

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Jamie Lee Curtis has paid tribute to David Carradine after his death, and opened up about the close bond their shared.
BANG Premier
BANG Premier
Obstructive sleep apnoea costs UK and US economies £137bn a year, research finds
Disease, which causes people to stop breathing while asleep, linked to increased risk of heart attack and stroke
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Eileen Gu Shouldn't Be Surprised That Americans Are Mad at Her for Competing for China
Plus: How to win the medal count, and how Free Agent readers want to fix the Olympics
Reason
Reason
What Is 'Diecided'? The Alleged Epstein-Linked Code Stirring Online Theories — and Why Selena Gomez and Candace Owens Are Being Mentioned
Explore the intriguing 'diecided' term from Epstein's emails, its connection to Selena Gomez, and the rise of clone theories
International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Nearly half of Americans unaware of link between eating processed meat and colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
“A historically significant instrument directly tied to the evolution of modern funk”: The bass Bootsy Collins used to record a James Brown anthem has been listed on eBay
The Fender Jazz Bass bought at auction for $40,000, has now been listed on eBay for almost twice as much. But you’ll have to bid an extra $299 if you want the original strings
Guitar World
Guitar World
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