Early Tuesday morning a charter plane carrying 81 people, 72 passengers and 9 crew, crashed in Medellin, Colombia. The passengers included an up and coming Brazilian soccer team. Only six people survived the crash according to aviation authorities but those that did survive sustained heavy and in some cases life threatening injuries. Of those that survived, three were soccer team members, a journalist accompanying the soccer team and two crew members. Search and rescue operations were hampered due to low visibility caused by weather and terrain. The crash site itself is highly difficult to reach as it is nestled deep within steep hills on the outskirts of Medellin.

The investigation into why the plane crashed is still ongoing but preliminary reports indicate that the plane reported electrical problems as it flew close to the towns of La Ceja and La Unión. It was flying through mountain stretches around Medellín. It seems they lost control and crashed into a mountain side and ultimately ended up at the bottom of a valley.

The Chapecoense Soccer Team was on their way to a meteoric rise and blazed their way through soccer leagues. Everyone expected them to take the championship in a stunning upset that would have been a true underdog story. Despite corruption scandals and mismanagement they were able to achieve victory after victory against some of the toughest opponents in the league. To top it all off, they’re from a smaller city of only 210,000 residents. A professor, resident of Chapeco, said “Everybody is shocked, and nobody really knows how to react,” he said. “Nothing like this has ever happened here.”

There were a total of 21 journalists covering the team and their rise to fame only one of whom survived the crash. The mayor of Chapeco as well as other city officials were supposed to be on that flight to show their support in their next soccer match but opted to take a commercial flight instead. The mayor said there will be a three day mourning period in honor of those lost in the crash. A number of Brazilian teams also said they would cancel events and hold moments of silence for the lost team.