The tragic loss of an entire Brazilian football team to a plane crash has rocked everyone in the footballing world. 71 players, technical staff, journalists and crew were killed when a plane chartered by Southern football club Chapecoense crashed on a Colombian mountainside.
A new emotion arises while the entire footballing world is still reeling from the loss: anger. The Guardian reports that Colombian civil aviation authorities had confirmed that there was no fuel in the aircraft's tank. The body has opened an investigation regarding the matter.
Brazilian newspaper O Globo elaborated on why the plane was without fuel when it crashed. The empty fuel tank was caused by delays in getting from Sao Paulo to Bolivia botched the plane's refueling stop in Cobija, Bolivia. The said airport does not operate at night.
A recording of the doomed flight's final minutes was leaked to the public, and it revealed the tirades between the plane's pilot and the control tower. The plane begged for authorization to land, citing fuel problems; the tower said a diverted plane experiencing mechanical problems had priority and told the plane to circle for seven minutes.
An emotional vigil was held at Chapecoense's Conda Arena, where a cellphone light show was made in honor of the fallen players. The players and coaching staff not on the flight made a lap of honor around the pitch with tears on their faces.
The Chapecoense community isn't the only one hurting from the tragedy: legends Ronaldinho and Juan Roman Riquelme consider coming out of retirement to play for the club, as they still have a number of fixtures they have to play. Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper David De Gea paid tribute to former Atletico teammate Cleber Santana, one of the players killed in the crash. Brazil's top flight clubs offer to loan their players to the small club to help with their rebuilding efforts. Various clubs in South America and Europe paid their respects to the people killed in the crash.
