Rescue & investigation begin after Colombia plane crash

“The plane’s two black boxes have been found. Officials did not immediately say how long it would take to analyze their contents”, the article says.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the surviving players and staff of Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer team as well as to all of the others touched by this tragedy”, said Ned Price, a spokesman for the National Security Council.

The death toll was previously reported as 75 but was later revised to 71 by local authorities.

The aircraft, which departed from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, was carrying the Chapecoense team from southern Brazil for Wednesday’s first leg of the two-game Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional of Medellin.

In an emotional gesture, Nacional called in a statement for the title to be handed to its Brazilian opponents “as a posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal accident that has put our sport in mourning”.

“The American people stand with the people of Brazil and Colombia in this hard moment”, the National Security Council said in a statement. Rain hampered dozens of rescuers as they combed the muddy and forested area, Reuters noted.

“What was supposed to be a celebration has turned into a tragedy”, Medellin mayor Federico Gutierrez said from the search and rescue centre. Large groups remained quietly in the stands until late in day, staring past their banners at the empty green field as the sun beat down.

The private plane with 77 on board including a football team, Chapecoense de Brasil, was headed to Colombia’s Medellin worldwide airport when it crashed around 10:15pm local time, according to a statement issued by the airport.

Ekland said the scene at the mountainous crash site is just very bad. Colombia aviation officials said the plane experienced electrical problems, but the Associated Press said investigators were also looking into an account from one survivor that the plane ran out of fuel.

President Michel Temer said Air Force planes would be deployed to help relatives of the victims to travel to Colombia and for the transfer of the bodies to Brazil, AP says. Seventy-one people died in the crash.

Tributes have poured in from around the soccer world for the deceased players.

May God be with our athletes, leaders, journalists and the other guests who are with the delegation.

The team said it would refrain from any further statements until it had fully evaluated the extent of the crash.