The death of a dream in Medellín
ENGLISH
When it seemed nothing could wrest the death of Fidel Castro from the headlines in Latin America, a devastating plane crash that took the lives of at least 75 people, including most of the members of Brazil’s Chapecoense soccer team, has plunged the nation of Brazil and the entire soccer world into
a state of shock and grief.
ENGLISH
The charter plane carrying 72 passengers and nine crew members crashed Monday night near Medellín, Colombia. Six people were reported to have survived, including three of the Brazilian players, a soccer journalist, and two members of the flight crew.
Soccer is the favorite sport of virtually all of Latin America, but nowhere is this truer than in Brazil. The Chapecoense team, heroes of their hometown of Chapecó, was en route from Bolivia to compete in the Copa Sudamericana tournament final, fresh from their victory over Argentina’s San Lorenzo club. Copa Sudamericana has now been suspended, the South American Football Confederation said on Tuesday.
Plínio David de Nes Filho is chairman of the board of the Chapecoense club. At a mournful press conference he described how the team was on the verge or realizing a great dream, but now, “This morning, that dream is over.”
“This wasn't just a group where everyone respected each other, it was a family,” de Nes Filho added.
It was also a black day for journalism, the second deadliest single event for journalists in modern times. 20 reporters were among the dead, including five Brazilians employed by RBS media group. Marcelo Rech, RBS’ editorial vice president and president of the Brazilian Newspaper Association, commented, “The dead colleagues will remain forever as a light to inspire the profession and the next generations of journalists.”
But along with the 75 tales of tragedy there are six miraculous stories of survival.
One survivor, Chapecoense defender Alan Ruschel, 27, reportedly suffered a spinal fracture and Tuesday morning was awaiting surgery in a Colombian hospital.
Jakson Follmann, 24, Chapesoense’s reserve goal keeper, is also said to have survived, along with 31-year-old central defender Helio Hermito Zampier Neto.
Flight attendant Ximena Suárez and veteran RBS journalist Rafael Henzel Valmorbida were the only others to be pulled alive from the wreckage.
Three other members of the Chapesoense club were traveling to Medellín on a commercial flight and thus were spared the untimely fate of most of their comrades.
As fans gathered together to share in their grief, Brazil’s president Michel Temer declared three days of national mourning.
“I express my solidarity in this sad hour during which tragedy has beset dozens of Brazilian families,” Temer said. (La Semana)