Alalam - USA
 

Aerial images provided by the Colombian air force show the extent of the wreckage, where the plane shattered into pieces in the midst of the jungle in the municipality of La Union, near Medellin.

The head of the Colombian civil aviation confirmed by Tuesday morning that 75 people had died, leaving only six survivors being treated at a local hospital, two in a critical condition.

The Health Secretary of Antioquia, Juan David Arteaga, said specialist police units were working to transfer the bodies for continuing investigations, Reuters reports.

"A unified control unit has been installed in the Rio Negro airport since the night, in the La Union municipality, and since the early hours of the morning rescue workers have been at the site of the accident.

Here in the programme of aviation health in the Olaya Herrera airport, we have carried out some very important work with the Colombian police, the criminal investigation unit, and the directors of the Medical Legal services with the objective of transporting the bodies here from the site of the accident in order to transfer them to the Medical Legal unit," said Arteaga.

The Chapecoense soccer team, from Brazil's top league, had been flying to face Atletico Nacional of Medellin on Wednesday (November 30) in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final, South America's equivalent of the Europa League when the plane crashed into the Colombian jungle near Medellin on Monday night.

Twenty-one journalists were also on board the the BAe 146 charter aircraft.

Local media reported that radar tracking showed the plane had been flying ten kilometers (six

miles) above its capacity using extra fuel, and had reported an electrical fault.

Investigations are still underway to confirm the full circumstances of the crash.

SA - 12