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Brazil’s Chapecoense Soccer Team Devastated as Plane Crash Kills Dozens Brazil’s Chapecoense Soccer Team Devastated as Plane Crash Kills Dozens
(about 4 hours later)
A chartered plane carrying 81 people, including members of a Brazilian soccer team that had made a stunning climb up the ranks at home, crashed on the outskirts of Medellín, Colombia, killing nearly everyone onboard, the authorities said early Tuesday. After climbing the ranks of Brazilian soccer, the team was on its way to face one of its biggest tests yet: a chance to win the final of the Copa Sudamericana, an international competition for South American soccer.
Colombia’s civilian aviation authority said that six people had survived the crash — three players, two crew members and a journalist who was accompanying the team. But over the mountains near Medellín, Colombia, the plane carrying the members of Chapecoense, a soccer team from a scrappy industrial city in Brazil, made an emergency call on Monday night after experiencing an electrical failure, the authorities say.
Members of the Chapecoense soccer team were traveling from Bolivia to play in the final of the Copa Sudamericana tournament when the plane crashed around 10 p.m. on Monday. Moments later, it crashed into the mountains with 77 people aboard.
The aircraft was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, according to the Medellín airport. Search and rescue efforts were hampered by low visibility and difficulty in reaching the site. Only six people survived the crash, aviation authorities said — three players, two crew members and a journalist who was accompanying the team. The rest were presumed dead, a devastating turn for one of the most remarkable success stories in the tumultuous, scandal-plagued world of Brazilian soccer.
The authorities said the plane had reported electrical problems as it flew near the towns of La Ceja and La Unión, in mountainous stretches around Medellín. “This is a relatively small city, so everyone knows somebody who was on the plane,” said Roberto Panarotta, 44, a professor of media studies in Chapecó, the team’s hometown. He said he had lost a childhood friend in the crash, a member of the coaching staff.
The crash crushed the hopes of one of the most impressive success stories in Brazilian soccer. In a national soccer league plagued by corruption scandals, mismanagement and lingering fury over the debacle of the national team’s loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Chapecoense managed to achieve success on the field and financial stability. “Everybody is shocked, and nobody really knows how to react,” Mr. Panarotta added. “Nothing like this has ever happened here.”
It emerged as a scrappy upstart, challenging giants like Flamengo, Corinthians and other storied Brazilian clubs. In southern Brazil, the team was the pride of Chapecó, a staid city of 210,000 known for its food processing plants and other agribusiness ventures. The tragedy came just as fans across Brazil had been reveling in Chapecoense’s performance, helping to unite much of the country behind the team’s sudden emergence as a regional contender.
“This is a relatively small city, so everyone knows somebody who was on the plane,” said Roberto Panarotta, 44, a professor of media studies in Chapecó. He added that he lost a childhood friend in the crash, a member of the coaching staff. Brazil has been grappling with extraordinary upheaval this year, including the impeachment of its president, the most severe economic crisis in decades and a jaw-dropping array of political corruption scandals.
“Everybody is shocked, and nobody really knows how to react,” he said. “Nothing like this has ever happened here.” In the world of Brazilian sports alone, the United States Justice Department has indicted the most powerful executives in Brazilian soccer on graft charges. The former governor of Rio de Janeiro, who helped land the 2016 Summer Olympics, is in jail on charges that he took bribes in a deal to renovate the city’s iconic Maracanã stadium.
At least 21 journalists were reported to be onboard the plane, including reporters from Fox Latin America, the Globo television network and news organizations from southern Brazil. All but one died, the authorities said. And now, just as Brazilian soccer appeared to be on the mend after the national team won the gold medal in Rio, the crash left many across the nation stunned.
In a televised address, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia called the crash “a tragedy that has the whole region in mourning.” He said that of the six survivors, two were in critical condition, and that he had spoken with President Michel Temer of Brazil, offering any assistance needed. “I’ve never seen or felt anything like this in 46 years of journalism,” said Juca Kfouri, 66, one of Brazil’s most eminent soccer columnists. “At times like this, the shock is so intense that it’s nearly impossible to remain calm.”
The Colombian station Blu Radio, citing an interview it conducted with Alfredo Bocanegra, Colombia’s civil aviation director, said the plane had declared an emergency as it approached Medellín. The plane was given priority to land before air traffic controllers lost contact with it. Camilo Tobón, a rescue worker, described approaching the wreckage near midnight, not knowing if there would be survivors. “The first thing I saw was the tail of the plane completely shattered,” he said. “There was baggage everywhere.”
Federico Gutiérrez, the mayor of Medellín, told Blu Radio that “emergency support, with firefighters, ambulances and the hospital network,” had been activated. But soon, voices were heard.
Members of Chapecoense were flying to Colombia for the first match of a two-leg final in the Copa Sudamericana, a second-tier championship for South American clubs. That match, against the Colombian team Atlético Nacional, was scheduled for Wednesday in Medellín. Chapecoense beat San Lorenzo — the Argentine club that counts Pope Francis as a fan — in the semifinals, and clubs like Atlético Junior of Colombia and Independiente of Argentina along the way. “There were people calling for help, you could hear them,” said Jenifer Cardona, a firewoman who helped rescue a Chapecoense goalkeeper as well as a crew member. Ms. Cardona said she found the two still conscious inside the airplane, pinned against debris and tree branches.
The South American Football Confederation said that it had suspended the Copa Sudamericana and that the group’s president was heading to Medellín. But hope had run out for others, Ms. Cardona said. “There are no more wounded, just the dead,” she said.
As Brazilians awoke on Tuesday to reports about the crash, they expressed anguish, and Mr. Temer said on Twitter that there would be a three-day mourning period. At least 21 journalists were reported to be onboard the plane as well, including reporters from Fox Latin America, the Globo television network and news organizations from southern Brazil. All but one died, the authorities said. At first, the Colombians reported that a total of 81 people had been aboard the plane; they later revised the number to 77.
“Before boarding, they said they were seeking to turn their dream into reality,” Plínio David de Nes Filho, chairman of the board overseeing the Chapecoense club, told reporters. “This morning, that dream is over.” Less than a decade ago, Chapecoense was playing in the obscurity of Brazil’s fourth division, making few ripples in the soccer world. But a spectacular rise placed them near the pinnacle of Brazilian soccer.
The mayor of Chapecó said he and other officials narrowly missed being on the plane. . In southern Brazil, the team was the pride of Chapecó, a staid city of 210,000 known for its food processing plants. Fans attributed Chapecoense’s ascent to prudent, transparent management, including cooperation with local business leaders who helped pull the team out of a financial crisis over the past decade.
“We were supposed to be on that flight,” said the mayor, Luciano Buligon, adding that he and others had opted instead to take a commercial flight. “Lots of football clubs in Brazil have problems in the way they are run, with corruption and bad management practices, but Chapecoense is different,” said Mr. Panarotta, the media professor.
Others expressed relief about reports of survivors, including three players. “Thank God Alan is in the hospital, in stable condition,” Moa Ruschel, the wife of Alan Ruschel, a defender for Chapecoense who was among the survivors, said in a post on Instagram. “We are praying for everyone who wasn’t saved.” The pride in Chapecó stands in contrast to the disdain many Brazilians express when it comes to some other facets of Brazilian soccer. Despite the gold medal this summer, there is still lingering dismay over the debacle of Brazil’s loss to Germany during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Stadiums built or upgraded for the World Cup are now the focus of corruption investigations over accusations of bribes paid to politicians.
Chapecoense, founded in 1973, returned to the top tier of Brazilian soccer in 2014 after a 35-year absence. The two-legged fixture with Atlético Nacional in the final of the Copa Sudamericana had been described as the biggest in the team’s history. José Maria Marin, the former president of Brazil’s soccer federation, was arrested in Switzerland last year on corruption charges and is now under house arrest at his Trump Tower apartment in Manhattan. In 2015, the United States Department of Justice also indicted Marco Polo Del Nero, the current president of the federation, on corruption charges.
Chapecoense’s rise from the country’s fourth division — where it played as recently as 2009 — has been described as a “Cinderella” story. Still, Mr. Del Nero remains in his post. Delfim Peixoto, a rival seeking to unseat him, was among the officials traveling with Chapecoense who died in the crash, according to Brazil’s national soccer federation. Mr. Peixoto, a former federal legislator from Santa Catarina State, was a vice president representing southern Brazil in the national soccer federation.
The club has established a reputation for long-term thinking and financial prudence, a rarity in the chaotic world of Brazilian soccer, and its progress to the final of the Copa Sudamericana put it in position to become the first team from the country to contest a continental trophy since 2013. In a televised address, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia called the crash “a tragedy that has the whole region in mourning.”
Conmebol, the governing body of South American soccer, issued a statement to say that all of the federation’s activities would be suspended until further notice. A number of teams in Brazil canceled events; Barcelona said it would hold a moment of silence before training on Tuesday; and clubs from across the world, including Manchester City and AC Milan, shared their condolences. The Copa Sudamericana match this week — which was suspended by soccer officials early Tuesday — was set to be played against a Colombian team on Wednesday in Medellín. On Tuesday, that team, Atlético Nacional, asked the South American Football Confederation to award Chapecoense the trophy as a “posthumous homage to the victims.”
Romário de Souza Faria, a former striker for the Brazilian national team, expressed his “solidarity with the friends and families of the players, journalists, technical staff and flight crew” who died in the crash. In Brazil, soccer officials suspended all games for a seven-day mourning period, and the teams in Brazil’s top league released a statement offering to loan players to Chapecoense so that it could return to the field.
“God please help all those who were onboard the plane,” Alexandre Pato, who plays in Spain and has been a member of Brazil’s national team, wrote on Twitter. In the world of Brazilian soccer, Chapecoense was an upstart from a humdrum city. While famed Brazilian teams like Fluminense, Corinthians and Pelé’s old team, Santos, were founded around the start of the 20th century, Chapecoense came to life much later, in 1973.
In its debut last year in the Copa Sudamericana tournament, a South American team competition, it surprised many by making the quarterfinals. This year it topped that, spectacularly.
Beginning in August, the team sequentially knocked off rivals from Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, including San Lorenzo of Argentina — the team favored by Pope Francis — to make the final.
The team accomplished a lot without relying on big-name superstars. Its top scorer, Bruno Rangel, was a 34-year-old journeyman with more than a dozen stops on his résumé. Team captain Cléber Santana, 35, had plied his trade all over Brazil and also in Spain. Both were killed, according to an official list of the dead that was confirmed by the team.
The final of the Copa Sudamericana was to be held over two legs, first in Medellín, and then in Brazil in the southern city of Curitiba. The matches were to have been the biggest in Chapecoense’s history by a long way.
Jéssica Canofre, 21, an engineering student in Chapecó, said that people in the city had been scrambling to get to Curitiba for the game.
“All the buses had been booked, there were none left,” she said by telephone, weeping as she described the sense of dismay on Tuesday.
“The city is paralyzed, everything has completely stopped, classes have been canceled, everything,” Ms. Canofre said. “Everyone was mobilized behind the team and so happy. I just want to go back to yesterday.”
Only a decade ago, Chapecoense was mired in debt, a situation common at many Brazilian soccer teams. But a group of business leaders in Chapecó came together to bail the team out, installing new management.
The turnaround worked to the point where Chapecoense became known for frequently paying their players in advance, in addition to coveted bonuses. Investments in training installations also paid off, with the team’s improving fortunes luring a solid fan base in a national soccer scene marked by dismal stadium attendance in many cities.
Echoing Chapecoense’s ascent, the fortunes of Brazil’s national team have also been on the rise, including the gold medal at the Rio Olympics. And with a new coach at the helm, Adenor Leonardo Bacchi — better known as Tite — the team has won all six of its last 2018 World Cup qualifying matches.
But the crash of Chapecoense’s plane cast a pall over the improving mood.
“In a country where so many think they are giants, Chapecoense knew their size and how much they could grow,” said André Rocha, a prominent writer on Brazilian soccer. He called the team “a moral example.”