A plane carrying Brazilian top-tier soccer team Chapecoense to the biggest game in its history crashed in the Colombian mountains after reporting an electrical fault, killing 71 people, authorities said.
"Search and rescue operations found 71 victims and six survivors," Colombia's disaster management agency, UNGRD, said in a statement.
The civil aviation authority had initially given a death toll of 75, but it later emerged that four people on the passenger manifest had not in fact boarded the plane.
Colombia's worst air disaster in two decades killed all but three of players on the Chapecoense team from as it flew to face Atletico Nacional of Medellin in the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final, South America's equivalent of the Europa League.
Global soccer was stunned with tributes pouring in from major figures including Pele, Lionel Messi and Wayne Rooney.
The BAe 146 plane, en route from Bolivia where the team had a stopover, went down about 10.15pm local time last night with 68 passengers and a crew of nine on board.
Colombia's civil aviation head, Alfredo Bocanegra, said there were 75 confirmed fatalities.
The aviation authority identified the six survivors as players Alan Ruschel, Jackson Follmann and Hlio Neto; journalist Rafael Valmorbida; Bolivian flight attendant Ximena Suarez; and Bolivian flight technician Erwin Tumiri.
It was the first time the small club from Chapeco had reached the final of a major South American club competition.
Brazilian news organisations said 21 journalists had also been on board the plane to cover the match.
Air disasters in football history
The LAMIA airlines flight originated in Brazil and had made a stop in Santa Cruz, Bolivia before continuing on to Colombia.
The airport statement said the plane reported an emergency at 10pm local time (4am Irish time). "It declared it had electrical failures."
It went down about 50km from Medellin, Colombia's second largest city, in an area called Cerro Gordo.
The plane crashed in a mountainous rural area and heavy rain at one point halted rescue operations.
A photographer at the scene said the BAe 146 charter aircraft had split in two with only the nose and wings recognisable and the tail end completely destroyed in the crash.
Imagine it was your team, in your sport. Your friends, all presumed dead bar three who didn't travel. Heartbreaking image from Chapecoense. pic.twitter.com/CxxxPDrG5w
— Thomas Niblock BBC (@thomasniblock) November 29, 2016
La Ceja mayor Elkin Ospina earlier told AFP: "It appears that the plane ran out of fuel."
On its Twitter account, the Medellin airport said the crash site could only be reached overland because of bad weather in the area.
Colombia's civil aeronautics agency said it had a team at the airport in response to the crash.
The crash evoked memories of Munich air disaster in 1958, which killed 23 people, including eight Manchester United players, journalists and travelling officials.
World governing body FIFA said on Twitter its "thoughts were with the victims, their families, fans of Chapecoense and media organisations in Brazil on this tragic day".
FIFA's thoughts are with the victims, their families, fans of Chapecoense & media organisations in Brazil on this tragic day. #ForçaChape pic.twitter.com/plDFRYqteo
— FIFA.com (@FIFAcom) November 29, 2016
Conmebol, the South American football confederation, meanwhile officially called off the South American Cup final that was to be played between Chapecoense and Atletico Nacional.
"All activities of the confederation are suspended until further notice," Conmebol said.
"The pain is terrible. Just as we had made it, I will not say to the top, but to have national prominence, a tragedy like this happens. It is very difficult, a very great tragedy," club vice-president Ivan Tozzo told SportTV.
Officials opened the club's stadium at Chapeco in the state of Santa Caterina in Brazil's south to console the grieving families and fans.
Atletico Nacional said on its Twitter account it "profoundly laments and expresses solidarity with @chapelcoensereal for the accident that occurred".
The club has also publicly asked the South American football federation CONMEBOL to award the Sudamericana Cup to Chapecoense.
"Atletico Nacional asks CONMEBOL that the Sudamericana Cup title be awarded to the Chapecoense Football Association as a laurel in honour of its great loss and a posthumous homage to the victims of the fatal accident that has left our sport in mourning," read a statement on the club's website.
"As far as we are concerned, Chapecoense will forever be the champions of the Sudamericana Cup 2016."
Chapecoense Real had posted a video to its Facebook page before departing the airport.
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Flightradar24 received last ADS-B signal from #LMI2933 at 15,500 feet - about 30 km from destination MDE airport located at ~7,000 feet. pic.twitter.com/hGcyHc98EV
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) November 29, 2016
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has expressed his condolences to those involved in the plane crash.
"I was deeply saddened this morning to hear of the plane crash near the city of Medellín in Colombia and would like to express my condolences to the families and loved ones of those who lost their lives in the incident," he said.
"Our thoughts are with them and also with those reported injured in the crash, to whom I wish a full recovery."
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