Four Brazilian Football Players Killed in Plane Crash
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The president of Palmas football club and four of its players were killed on Sunday when a small plane taking them to a Brazilian cup game crashed on take-off.
The fourth-tier club said president Lucas Meira, along with players Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noe, Ranule and Marcus Molinari, all died. The pilot, named only as Wagner, was also killed, ESPN reported.
"The plane took off and crashed at the end of the runway at the Tocantinense Aviation Association," the club said. "We regret to report there are no survivors."
The plane was heading to Goiania, around 800 km away, where Palmas was due to play Vila Nova on Monday in the last 16 of the Copa Verde, a tournament reserved for teams outside the traditional powerhouses of southern and northeastern Brazil.
The players were traveling in a private plane because they had tested positive for COVID-19, club spokesperson Izabela Martins told AP. 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.
Palmas Futebol e Regatas was founded in 1997 and plays in Brazil's fourth division.
The cause of the accident was not immediately known.
