CHAPECO, Brazil (AP) — Thousands squeezed into Chapeco's cathedral and even more packed a stadium to mourn the death of 71 people in a plane crash, 19 of them members of the Chapecoense club who had been on the brink of soccer greatness.
"To lose (almost) all of them in such a tragic way, totally destroyed our city and each one of us," Carla Vilembrini said late Tuesday, standing outside Santo Antonio Cathedral. She was dressed like so many others—in the club's green and white jerseys.
Chapecoense's fantasy season ended on a muddy Colombian mountainside late Monday when a chartered aircraft crashed south of Medellin.