South Florida

South Florida Soccer Fans, Brazilians in Mourning After Plane Crash

Soccer fans and Brazilians in South Florida are in mourning following the airplane crash in Colombia involving the Chapecoense soccer team.

More than 70 people were killed and six were injured in Monday night's crash in Medellin. Members of the Brazilian first division soccer team were on their way to the finals of Copa Sudamerica after a legendary season.

One of the survivors, Alan Luciano Ruschel, posted video of the team boarding the plane before takeoff.

"It should have been such a happy occasion and then something like this happens. It's terrible," said Lee Ifans, a member of the Dade Brigade, the official fan group of Miami FC.

The Fort Lauderdale Strikers, who play in the North American Soccer League, took to Twitter Tuesday to offer their condolences:

Soccer enthusiasts and local Brazilians watched the news unfold at the Brazilian restaurant Boteco.

"Everybody feels very bad right now. Everybody concentrated right now in Chapecoense," Brazilian Marcos Nascemento said.

"There is a soul in soccer. There's a fabric running through the game and when part of that fabric is gone it's just really really sad," Ifans said.

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