He president and four footballers of Palmas Fútbol y Regatas, a club from the fourth division of the Brazilian Championship, died this Sunday in a plane crash together with the pilot of the aircraft in which they were traveling to the city of Goiania to play a match, team sources reported.
The private plane chartered by the club fell to the ground for reasons still unknown shortly after taking off from Porto Nacional, a municipality in the Amazonian state of Tocantins, around 8.15 local time (11.15 GMT) this Sunday.
On a note in which he regretted the accident, the Palmas club reported that there were no survivors among the six occupants of the aircraft.
The plane was totally destroyed after having crashed on land and exploded in a wooded region known as Luzimangues, a few meters from the head of the runway of the Aeroclub Asociación Tocantinense de Aviación (ATA) of Porto Nacional.
According to the statement released by the Palmas club, in addition to the president of the entity, Lucas Meira, Footballers Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noé, Ranule and Marcus Molinari also died in the accident.
The pilot of the plane also died, Uniquely identified as Commander Wagner.
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The plane was going to transport the soccer players to the city of Goiania, capital of the state of Goiás and where Palmas was going to face Vila Nova on Monday, in a match for the so-called Green Cup.
“We regret to report that there are no survivors. At this time of pain and dismay, the club asks for prayers for the family members, to which it will offer due support, “the club said in its note.
The management of the Vila Nova club, which would be Palmas’ rival on Monday, also released a statement to regret what happened and stated that, in addition to accepting the postponement of the match indefinitely, it will pay tribute to the victims of the accident in its next commitment.
In addition to playing the Brazilian fourth division championship and the Green Cup, a regional tournament that faces clubs from the north, center and west of Brazil, Palmas are currently contesting the Tocantins state regional championship.
Despite being a club with little relevance in Brazil, founded in 1977 in the city of Palmas, the capital of Tocantins, it has won the regional championship of this state seven times and in 2004 it surprised by reaching the quarterfinals of the Copa do Brasil.
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Just over four years ago, another plane crash in Colombia caused the death of most of the Brazilian club Chapecoense’s squad.
The accident occurred on November 28, 2016 when the plane in which the team was traveling to Medellín to play the final of the Copa Sudamericana crashed 17 kilometers from the airport of the Colombian city.
In the tragedy, 71 of the 77 people who were in the aircraft of the Bolivian airline Lamia died, including players, members of the board of directors and the coaching staff, as well as a score of journalists who accompanied the club in its first final in a international tournament.
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