A heroic 10-year-old boy was first on the scene and helped to save the life of one of the players, following yesterday’s horrific plane crash.
The young boy, who remains anonymous helped to rescue 27-year-old Alan Ruschel from the wreckage of the downed plane.
The brave boy acted quickly, telling the rescue services where the survivors were, enabling them to be treated faster.
The doomed plane came down just 30km from their destination, Medellin, Columbia, tragically killing 71 people and leaving just six survivors.
Local resident, Sergio Marulanda, explained how the child directed the emergency services to the injured footballer’s location.
He said:
When we parked, a child came and told us where the wounded were located.
A policeman told me: “You’re the first to arrive, put the child in the truck and go to collect the wounded.”
Following the orders, he fought his 4×4, with the boy in tow, through harsh terrain and atrocious weather conditions to aid the rescue, which resulted in six people’s lives being saved.
A rescue worker revealed the first words of the wounded footballer, after the 10-year-old discovered him.
Ruschel said:
My family, my friends… where are they?
The defender’s wife, Moa has spoke out on Instagram, thanking god for her husband’s life being saved.
She wrote:
Thank God Alan is in the hospital. We are praying for everyone who wasn’t saved.
Doctors report that Ruschel is in a ‘stable’ condition.
They said:
Of Alan Ruschel we don’t have a definitive diagnosis yet
They are waiting on some lab results to decide how to continue. He is stable.
Defender, Helio Nato, 31, goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, 24 and journalist Rafael Valmorbida survived the crash but have extensive wounds and are currently in intensive care.
Two members of the flight crew are also said to be ‘out of danger and under observation’.
Follmann has had to have his leg amputated and sadly the team’s goalkeeper, Marcos Danilo Padhila, 31, who earlier took a selfie aboard the ill-fated plane with Rushel, died on the way to the hospital.
The Chapecoense football team took selfies and shared videos aboard the plane before their journey ended in tragedy, as it smashed into a hill, breaking into two on impact.
The plane suffered power failures before fatally plummeting into the remote mountains, despite the pilot trying to circle the plane before landing to avoid exploding on impact.
The harrowing site of bodies covered in sheets could be seen laid out in the woodlands outside of Medellin and the crash has been deemed Clumbia’s ‘worst’ air disaster in 20 years.
Reports are circulating that the team changed their flight last minute, after Brazilian aviation authorities stopped them from taking a charter plane from Sao Paulo to Medellin.
The team’s vice president, Ivan Tozzo, spoke out about the horrifying incident that wiped out most of their team.
He said:
We’re all here at the stadium to help the people connected. It hasn’t really sunk in yet. We have to trust in God. Our team must carry on
The president of Brazil, Michel Temer, has declared three days of national mourning in respect of those involved in the crash.
Our thoughts are with everyone who was on board and those affected by this terrible disaster.
