HERE’S WHAT WE know so about flight LMI 2933, which crashed into the Colombian mountains last night, killing more than 70 people including a Brazilian football team.
What happened?
The charter flight from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz reported “electrical failures” around 10:00 pm local-time yesterday night.
Soon after, the plane crashed just short of its destination, the Medellin international airport in northwestern Colombia.
The plane broke apart on impact in the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo, leaving the shattered white fuselage plastered on a hillside.
The plane’s black boxes have been found, according to the state governor. Officials did not immediately say how long it would take to analyse its contents.
The mountainous terrain is very difficult to access, a local official said.
Rescuers had to hike for more than half an hour to reach the site.
How many died?
Officials said 75 people were killed. But reports now indicate that some people on the plane’s manifest may not have boarded.
Emergency workers say they have recovered 72 bodies so far.
Six people survived: three players, two crew members and a journalist.
The plane’s manifest said it was carrying 81 people — 72 passengers and nine crew.
The survivors are being treated in hospital.
The local state governor, Luis Perez, said it was a “miracle” they survived.
Who were the victims?
The plane was carrying club team Chapecoense Real to the first game of a two-leg final to decide the Copa Sudamericana, South America’s second-biggest club tournament.
There were 22 journalists on board, according to the manifest.
Based in the city of Chapeco in southern Brazil, the unsung team was having a Cinderella season after defying the odds to reach the Copa Sudamericana finals.
The team’s goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31, died on the way to hospital after the crash, the civil aviation authority said.
What was the plane’s history?
The British Aerospace 146 airliner entered into operation in 1999, said a spokesman for the manufacturer.
The four-engine jet had been used by two other airlines before being sold to Bolivian charter company LAMIA, which operated the flight.
Britain’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch said it was sending investigators to Colombia along with representatives of the plane’s manufacturer BAE Systems to help with investigations.
The same plane was used two weeks ago to fly the Argentine national football team to San Juan, Argentina for a World Cup qualifying match
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