Plane Crashes In Colombia With 77 On Board

A charter aircraft with 77 onboard, including a Brazilian football team, has crashed in Colombia, six people survived.

The BAe 146/Avro RJ85 plane operated by Bolivian airline LaMia crashed in a remote area of Colombia just after 22:00 local time (10.00pm). Six people survived the crash.

The 68 passengers and nine crew included members of the Chapecoense soccer team from Brazil who were on their way to Medellín to play Atlético Nacional in the Copa Sudamericana.

There were also 21 journalists on the flight to report on the match, one was reported to have survived.

The flight left from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra and was heading to José María Córdova Airport in Medellín. The crew reported an electrical emergency at around 22:00 and the plane crashed a few minutes later.

Access to the Cerro Gordo area was hampered by terrain and poor visibility. It took several hours to get the survivors to hospital.

Football authorities from Brazil and around the world have been paying tribute to the players.

As the aircraft was manufactured in the United Kingdom, a team from Britain’s Air Accident Investigation Branch was on its way to the crash site.