Both Ruschel and Danilo were pulled alive from the wreckage but Danilo later died in hospital. Goalkeeper Jacson Follmann, defender Helio Hermito Zampier Neto as well as passengers Rafael Correa Gobbato and Ximena Suarez survived the crash, officials said.

There are reports that the team had to change their flight and board the doomed aircraft after Brazilian aviation authorities prevented them from taking a charter plane.

As officials revealed 25 bodies had already been recovered, rescue teams were forced to suspend their operations amid heavy rain in the mountainous region.

The team, from the small city of Chapeco, was in the middle of a fairy tale season. It joined Brazil’s first division in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it last week to the Copa Sudamericana finals – the equivalent of the UEFA Europa League tournament – after defeating Argentina’s San Lorenzo.

‘May God accompany our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation’ the club said in a brief statement on its Facebook page. The players looked happy and relaxed as they waited for permission to board.

The wreckage of the LAMIA airlines charter plane carrying members of the Chapecoense Real football team is seen after it crashed in the mountains of Cerro Gordo

 There are reports that the team had to change their flight and board the doomed aircraft after Brazilian aviation authorities prevented them from taking a charter plane

 Crash site: Pictures show how the plane smashed into the side of a mountain after coming down close to the town of La Union

 A police searcher looks through the wreckage of the plane as rescuers started to remove bodies from the site this morning

 A rescuer walks past the body of a victim from the LAMIA airlines charter plane crash in the mountains of Cerro Gordo

 Colombian authorities later said a sixth person was found alive revealing that footballer Helio Hermito Zampier Neto, was in the process of being evacuated. He is pictured being treated by medics

 Amid dismal weather conditions, rescuers carry one of the survivors from the LAMIA airlines charter plane to a waiting ambulance

 Shocked fans comforted each other outside the home of Chapecoense at the Arena Conda stadium in Chapeco

 Chapecoense was traveling on a chartered flight to play Colombian club Atletico Nacional in the Copa Sudamericana final when the plane crashed near Medellin

The mayor of La Ceja, a nearby town, said on local radio, citing firefighters, that at least 25 people had been killed in the crash and about five survivors had been rescued – but few official figures were yet available.

Ambulances ferrying survivors to hospital can only get to within 30 minutes walk of the spot where the plane has crashed near the town of La Unión, it has emerged.

Rescuers on foot are having to stretcher survivors through fog which prevents them from seeing more than a few feet in front of them, local radio reported. They are then put into lorries which drive them another 700 metres to the waiting ambulances.

The pilots and cabin crew on board the plane that crashed were all Bolivian while most of the passengers were Brazilian and about 40 were part of the Chapecoense delegation.

The Chapecoense football team are pictured here on a plane. The footballers had to change their flight and board the plane that crashed after Brazilian aviation authorities prevented them from taking a charter flight, it has been claimed

They included 20 players, the manager Caio Junior and four other members of his coaching team including an assistant manager, a personal trainer, a kinesiologist and a masseur who is said to be among the survivors.

The club’s president and vice-president were also on board along with other club managers. The team were only about five minutes from their destination when they crashed.

Among those believed to have perished on the flight to Medellin are dozens of sports journalists and well-known football commentators making their way to report on Chapecoense’s history-making game.

They include a six-strong team from FOX Sports, three reporters from Brazil’s main Globo TV channel, among a total of 21 members of the media.

Among the team from FOX, which was broadcasting the game, were famous commentators Devair Pascovicci and Mario Sergio, as well as respected football journalist Victorino Chermont.

It also emerged Anderson Paixao, the trainer of both Chapecoense and the Brazilian national side, is among those not accounted for.

Anderson had first been called up to train Brazil stars such as Neymar and David Luiz last year for the Copa America in Chile.

His colleague, Chapecoense’s physio Rafael Gobbato is also believed to be among the dead.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the new mayor-elect of Chapeco escaped the doomed flight – despite being on the list of those on board. Luciano Bulligon had planned to join his town’s team for their crucial match but changed his mind at the last minute, saying his schedule was too full.

And Chapecoence player Alejandro Martinuccio has revealed how an injury is likely to have saved his life.

The Argentine forward wasn’t able to play in the scheduled match in Colombia, so he wasn’t on the team plane that crashed Monday night in Colombia, killing most of those aboard. He told Argentina’s La Red radio that ‘I was saved because I got injured.’

‘I feel profound sadness,’ he said. ‘The only thing I can ask is prayers for the companions who were on the flight.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3980974/Plane-carrying-72-passengers-including-Brazilian-football-team-crashes-Colombia-reports-say.html#ixzz4RPXcTk2q
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