Chapecoense Players Post Photos Before Crash

From Cosmopolitan

Early Tuesday morning, a plane with most of the Brazilian Chapecoense soccer team (as well as journalists and crew members) aboard crashed in Colombia, killing at least 75 people, CNN reports. Rescue teams combing through the wreckage have found six survivors and have not yet given up hope of finding more.

The chartered flight was headed to Medellin, Colombia, from Bolivia when it crashed about 22 miles (and about five minutes) from the airport it was scheduled to land at. It’s unclear exactly what happened, though  

The Guardian reports the plane lost contact with ground controllers about six hours into the flight. Before that, the plane was given priority clearance to land at the airport, though, again, investigators have not yet confirmed why.

According to Reuters, the plane may have reported an electrical difficulty before the crash. A Reuters photographer on scene said the plane had split in two and that the tail end of the plane had been completely destroyed. Body bags remain on the hills surrounding the crash as authorities continue to pull victims from the debris. Multiple outlets have reported heavy rain weather in the area is making rescue efforts more difficult, as the remnants of the plane are in a muddy, wooded area.

The Chapecoense team was flying to Colombia to compete in the Copa Sudamericana finals Wednesday, the Associated Press reports. For the team (founded in 1973), this was a monumental accomplishment.

The team’s Facebook page has been flooded with comments from mourning fans. The page had posted video of the team on the plane minutes before takeoff (below) and pictures of them posing before boarding the flight (above).

Alan Ruschel, one of the team’s defenders, Snapchatted photos of him and goalkeeper Danilo Padhila while on board. Both players were pulled from the wreckage alive, though Padhila died shortly after in the hospital. Ruschel’s wife posted a similar picture of him on Instagram confirming he is in stable condition.

All official South American soccer events have been suspended and Brazil has declared a national three days of mourning at this time.

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