Tragic! Four Footballers, Club President, Pilot Die In Plane Crash

Cat:

Related stories

Amid Several National Grid Collapse, Power Minister Adelabu Unveils Ambition to Succeed Makinde in Oyo

Kicks Off State-wide Consultations By Abiola Olawale Minister of Power,...

Osun Guber: Davido’s Uncle, Adeleke Quashes Defection Rumours

Says he stands firm with PDP By Abiola Olawale Osun...

Zamfara 2027: Intrigues As ADC Extends Invitation to Governor Dauda Lawal

Governor Weighs options In what has been described as...

Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan: Senate Stipulates Terms for Reinstatement After Court’s Ruling

By Abiola Olawale The Nigerian Senate has outlined conditions for...

By Oyinlola Awonuga Balogun  (The New Diplomat’s Entertainment, Fashion and Sports Desk)

Four football players from Brazilian club Palmas died in a plane crash Sunday while travelling separately from the team after testing positive for the coronavirus, the club said.

The club’s president and the pilot also died in the crash after the plane suddenly plunged to the ground at the end of the runway while on takeoff in the northern state of Tocantins, the team reported.Tragic! Four Footballers, Club President, Pilot Die In Plane Crash

The players were on their way to Goiania, in the central region of the country, to play a match against Vila Nova.

The players were travelling in a private plane because they had tested positive for COVID-19 , club spokesperson Izabela Martins told The Associated Press. Martins said that Sunday would have been their last day of isolation and that the rest of the team would travel on a commercial flight.

The victims were identified as president Lucas Meira and players Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noé, Ranule and Marcus Molinari, the club said. The pilot was not identified. There were no survivors.

Palmas Futebol e Regatas was founded in 1997 and plays in Brazil’s fourth division.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known.

Tocantins fire officials reported that the twin-engine Baron model had a capacity of six occupants.

When firefighters arrived at the crash site, 500 meters from the runway, the aircraft was being consumed by fire. At least two explosions were registered, according to the official report.

The Brazilian Football Confederation expressed its solidarity with Palmas’ family members and the club’s fans in an official note, and it ordered a minute of silence in all matches played Sunday as a sign of mourning.

In 2016, a plane crash killed 19 players of the Chapecoense football club. Chapecoense’s plane went down en route to the club’s first-ever South American tournament final in Colombia after it ran out of fuel near Medellin.

“Unfortunately, we know what this moment of pain is like and we wish that no other group had to feel the same,” Chapecoense said in a statement. “You won’t go through this alone.”

FIFA has expressed its condolences to the six victims. “Football extends its deepest sympathies to the victims and their families at this difficult time,” it said on Twitter.

Alejandro Domínguez, the president of South America’s soccer body CONMEBOL, also offered his condolences.

“I deeply regret the plane crash that affected Palmas,” he said on Twitter. “My condolences to all those who make up the club, family and friends at this sad time.”

'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide
'Dotun Akintomide's journalism works intersect business, environment, politics and developmental issues. Among a number of local and international publications, his work has appeared in the New York Times. He's a winner of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Award. Currently, the Online Editor at The New Diplomat, Akintomide has produced reports that uniquely spoke to Nigeria's experience on Climate Change issues. When Akintomide is not writing, volunteering or working on a media project, you can find him seeing beautiful sites like the sandy beaches that bedecked the Lagos coastline.

Subscribe

- Never miss a story with notifications

- Gain full access to our premium content

- Browse free from up to 5 devices at once

Latest stories

NDN
Latest News
Amid Several National Grid Collapse, Power Minister Adelabu Unveils Ambition to Succeed Makinde in OyoOsun Guber: Davido's Uncle, Adeleke Quashes Defection RumoursZamfara 2027: Intrigues As ADC Extends Invitation to Governor Dauda Lawal$4.2m Covid-19 Scam: Nigerian Pastor Goes to Jail, Osun Monarch, Oloyede Forfeits Assets in US As Crackdown BeginsNatasha Akpoti-Uduaghan: Senate Stipulates Terms for Reinstatement After Court's RulingTinubu Departs Saint Lucia, Heads to Brazil for BRICS Summit2027: Drama, Intrigues as Julius Abure Tells Otti to Quit Labour PartyFG Secures $100m for Lagos-Calabar Project from ECOWAS BankEx- Arsenal Star Thomas Partey Faces Rape, Sexual Assault Charges in UKEdwin Cortes: Prefers Being A Small Puerto Rican Than Big AmericanJune 12 And The International Pursuit of Justice For Abiola, By Femi FalanaBreaking Down the West’s $146 Billion 2024 Defence Technology InvestmentG7 vs. the World: GDP, Population, and Military StrengthUS drillers cut oil and gas rigs for 10th week in a row, Baker Hughes saysExclusive! Tinubu Tips Late Ajimobi's Wife, Florence, Others for Ambassadorial Posts
X whatsapp