KABUL (SW): 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. According to the BBC, 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.
Chapecoense issued a brief statement saying: "May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation." 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.
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