Brazilian team returns to Colombian site of doomed jet crash

Ten years on since the catastrophic plane crash that claimed the lives of 71 people, including 77 passengers and crew aboard the Brazilian football team Chapecoense, the club has returned to the site of the disaster in Colombia. The aircraft, en route to the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional in Medellin, lost fuel and plummeted into a mountain on the outskirts of the city on November 28, 2016.

Only six of the 77 individuals on board survived the tragedy, with three players from the 22-strong squad managing to escape.

The club's return to Colombia this week included a friendly match against Atletico Nacional on Saturday and the inauguration of a memorial engraved with the names of the deceased victims. Chapecoense was joined by Helio Neto, a former defender who miraculously survived the crash, along with Miguel Ramirez, a Colombian farmer who was the first to arrive on the scene ten years ago. Ramirez still recalls the cries of people desperately seeking help, while fragments of the plane's fuselage still remain near the crash site.

Chapecoense was granted the Copa Sudamericana by regional football body Conmebol, at the request of Atletico Nacional, after the tragedy. The two teams faced off once more five months later in the 2017 Recopa Sudamericana competition, which the Colombian team ultimately won.