Back to the Philadelphia Union Newsfeed

Plane taking Brazilian soccer team to game crashes in Colombia, 75 dead

LA UNION, Colombia/ CHAPECO, Brazil (Reuters) - A charter plane carrying Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense to the biggest game in its history crashed in the Colombian mountains after an electrical fault, killing 75 people on board, authorities said on Tuesday.

Colombia's worst air disaster in two decades killed all but three of players on the team from Brazil's top soccer league as it flew to face Atletico Nacional of Medellin in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final, South America's equivalent of the Europa League.

Global soccer was stunned with tributes pouring in from major figures including Pele, Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.