International News

Plane carrying football players from Brazil crashes in Colombia

BOGOTA, (MILLAT+APP/AFP) – A plane carrying 81
people, including members of a Brazilian football team, crashed late Monday near the Colombian city of Medellin, officials said.
The airport that serves Medellin said that among the 72 passengers
and nine crew were members of Chapecoense Real, a Brazilian football club that was supposed to play against Colombia’s Atletico Nacional Wednesday in the South American Cup finals.
“Confirmed, the aircraft license number CP2933 was carrying the team
@ChapecoenseReal. Apparently there are survivors,” the Jose Maria Cordova de
Rionegro airport said on its Twitter account.
The LAMIA aircraft was flying from Bolivia to Medellin when it
crashed in an area called Cerro Gordo about 50 kilometers from the city, Colombia’s second largest.
“It appears that the plane ran out of fuel,” Elkin Ospina, the mayor
of the nearby town of La Ceja, told AFP.
He said authorities were on the scene and hospitals and medical
centers were preparing to receive the injured.
On its Twitter account, the Medellin airport said the crash site
could only be reached overland because of bad weather in the area.