MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA — A plane carrying Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense crashed in the mountains less than 20 miles from its destination on Monday night, killing 71 people on board.
The chartered British Aerospace Avro RJ85 plane was carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members, Reuters reported. It was en route from Santa Cruz, Bolivia to Medellin, Colombia when it crashed just about 18 miles from Medellin airport.
According to the Telegraph, the Medellin airport said the pilots had declared an emergency, citing electrical failure, before losing contact. Data from Flightradar24 shows the last known altitude of the plane was at 15,500 feet and the pilot circled the plane in a possible attempt to drop off fuel before crashing.
The plane crashed in the mountainous terrain near Medellin and broke apart upon impact, but did not catch fire.
According to Reuters, the six survivors include players on the team, a journalist and two flight crew members.