Brazil football club plane crashed after running out of fuel

The plane that crashed in Colombia, killing almost the entire Chapecoense de Brasil football club, ran out of fuel, and had no electrical power, according to the final words of the pilot heard on a recording.

The pilot had contacted the Medellin air control tower in Colombia and requested to land because of "fuel problems". But the tower had asked the pilot to wait for seven minutes because another plane, which had mechanical failure was given priority.

Corroborating the pilot's words, Colombian authorities said evidence gathered so far indicate that the plane had crashed after running out of fuel.

"Miss, LAMIA 933 is in total failure, total electrical failure, without fuel," Bolivian pilot Miguel Quiroga was heard telling the control tower operator at Medellin's airport on the crackly audio played by Colombian media.

Monday's disaster killed 71 out of the 77 passengers on board the chartered LAMIA airlines flight from Bolivia, where the team had boarded the plane.

The plane crashed on a mountainside next to La Union town outside Medellin, where the top-tier Brazilian football club were to play against Colombian club Atletico Nacional, in the final of Copa Sudamericana 2016 — South America's equivalent of the UEFA Europa League.

Only six survived, including three players, a journalist and two crew members.

The plane "did not have fuel at the moment of impact," Civil Aviation Association's chief Alfredo Bocanegra was quoted by BBC as saying.

Investigators from Brazil have joined their Colombian counterparts to look at evidence gathered from two black boxes found at the crash site on a muddy hillside.

Memorial

Tens of thousands of fans gathered in stadiums in Medellin and the club's home stadium in Chapeco to hold a memorial.

Dressed in white and chanting, "We will never forget. This cup goes to heaven," fans at the Atletico Nacional stadium erupted in cheers, while some cried as white doves were released.

At what would have been kick-off time, the faces and names of those who died in the plane crash were shown on a giant screen.

Atletico wants the trophy to be given to Chapecoense in honour of the dead.

In Chapeco, when a video of Atletico supporters singing Chapecoense's club anthem was broadcast, the stadium exploded in tears and song.