A plane carrying 72 passengers – including members of a Brazilian soccer team – and nine crew members was involved in an accident near Rionegro, Colombia, according to the country’s civil aviation department.
The plane declared an emergency between the municipalities of La Ceja and La Union, according to a statement from Colombian aviation officials.
There could be six possible survivors, the statement said.
The plane took off from Bolivia’s Viru Viru airport at 6:18 p.m. local time, according to Manuel Palamas, an air controller at the airport.
Officials didn’t specify what happened to the plane but did say that the wounded were being transported to assistance centers.
The mayor of nearby Medellin said on Twitter that he is on his way to the accident site.
The aviation department’s statement said that passengers belonged to a Brazilian soccer club called Chapecoense.
The Cinderella Story of the Boys of Chapecoense
Chapecoense was due to play the Colombian club team Atletico Nacional in the the first leg of the South American cup Finals on Wednesday.
The team, which is ninth in Brazil’s Serie A league, has been something of a Cinderella story in the tournament this year — ESPNFC billed their semifinal contest as a David versus Goliath match.
The lesser-known club was founded in 1973 and has steadily risen up the ranks in recent years.
Team officials like to say that they’ve succeeded due to good management and a strategic vision, says Plus55, a Brazilian news site.
“Few remembered the name of this forgotten team,” CONMEBOL said of Chapecoense. Now the whole continent knows it.”
The team, whose stadium wasn’t even big enough to host a final by CONMEBOL (the governing body for soccer in South America) regulations, was vying to become the first Brazilian club to win the South American Cup final since 2008.
Nacional lamenta profundamente y se solidariza con @chapecoensereal por el accidente ocurrido y espera información de las autoridades.
— Atlético Nacional (@nacionaloficial) November 29, 2016
Nacional tweeted it “deeply regrets and is in solidarity with Chapecoense for the accident that occurred is awaiting for more information from the authorities.”
CONMEBOL said in a statement that it has been notified about the accident and has suspended all confederation activities.
Its president, Alejandro Dominguez, is on his way to Medellin, the statement said.
