London [United Kingdom), Nov.30 : The southern Brazilian town of Chapeco was ina state of mourning on Wednesday, following the deaths of their football players in an air crash on Monday.
Businesses and schools were closed out of respect for the loss of its soccer team, Chapecoense, in a plane crash in Colombia.
Hundreds of fans decked out in the club's green and white gathered at its stadium and quietly stood and looked out at the empty green field.
An improvised shrine has been set up outside the player's entrance to the stadium filled up with jerseys, flowers and candles.
Chapecoense's improbable rise to competing for the Sudamericana Cup title had been an inspiration to the agricultural town of some 200,000 people in the remote interior of Santa Catarina state.
The dream ended suddenly when the team's plane crashed late on Monday outside the Colombian city of Medellin, where Chapecoense had been due to face local side Atletico Nacional in Wednesday's Cup final.
Most of the team's players were among the 75 people killed in the crash, Colombian authorities said, as well as local journalists and team officials.
Team Chairman Gelson Dalla Costa said the club's doctors were traveling to Medellin on Tuesday to collect the bodies.
The club's remaining players and relatives of the deceased are scheduled to travel early on Wednesday to Sao Paulo, where they will make the final identification of the bodies, Tozzo said.
Three Chapecoense players were among the six people who survived the crash. Dalla Costa said defender Neto was undergoing cranial surgery and reserve goalkeeper Jackson Follmann had his leg amputated.
Defender Alan Ruschel was reported in intensive care but in stable condition. Radio journalist Rafael Valmorbida appeared to be in stable condition. (ANI with inputs).
Source: ANI
