Survivors reported after plane carrying Brazilian football team crashes

A plane carrying 81 people, including members of a Brazilian soccer team, crashed Monday on its way to Medellin’s international airport, Colombian authorities said.

Airport officials said in a news release that there were at least 6 survivors. The plane also reported electrical failures before it crashed.

The charter aircraft took off from Bolivia and was carrying members of the Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense, according to José María Córdova International Airport officials.

The plane was carrying 72 passengers and 9 crew on board. The team was set to play in the Copa Sudamerica finals against Atletico Nacional on Wednesday in Medellin.

A press release from aviation authorities said the plane likely crashed due to electrical failure.

However, the mayor of the municipality of La Ceja, Elkin Ospina, previously said it appeared the aircraft ran out of gas, El Universo reported.

The plane, operated by Venezuelan airline Lamia, was reportedly carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members.

The country's civil aviation authority has set up a unified command post at the airport, El Universo reported. 

The mayor of nearby Medellín said the city's hospital network has been alerted and officials from the Administration Department of Disaster Risk Management have been sent to the site.

Access to the crash site can only be reached by land due to current weather conditions, the airport wrote on Twitter.

The team was traveling to compete in the Copa Sudamericana finals. Chapecoense was scheduled to compete against Colombia's Atlético Nacional at 6:45pm local time on Wednesday, at Atanasio Girardot stadium in Medellín.

After learning of the crash, the South American football confederation CONMEBOL announced that the football tournament had been suspended, according to El Universo.