Colombia plane crash: Team-mate of tragic Chapecoense players sensationally declares that 71 passengers on-board doomed flight were ‘assassinated’
Moises Santos did not travel with the squad and claims pilot Miguel Quiroga 'was the only guilty one'
STILL raw from the tragic news that has shocked football and the world, Moises Santos sensationally claims that his team mates were 'assassinated'.
Santos did not travel on the plane because he was injured and would likely have lost his life had he joined his friends on the doomed flight.
The grieving player has claimed pilot Miguel Quiroga 'was the only guilty one' in the tragedy that wiped out nearly an entire football team.
Quiroga was recorded in his radio communications stating that the aircraft had run out of fuel just moments before it crashed in to the mountains.
However there are reports emerging that the Bolivian pilot was told to circle by air traffic controllers as he came in to land but it appears that the plane had veered too close to the mountains to attempt a controlled landing.
As investigations begin to uncover the truth behind the disaster the story is becoming clear that the aircraft did in fact fly beyond its fuel capacity as it approached Medellin airport.
An airport official also warned the crew they only had enough fuel for the exact flight time with any delays during the journey using fuel they couldn't afford to lose.
Santos told: "At the moment I got injured I questioned God, and said to my wife 'why me?' Today I can see that because of my injury, God delivered me.
"But how can I say that God delivered me, when he didn't deliver my friends who were no that plane? If he saved me why didn't he save them as well? I don't have any reason to talk of being delivered.'
"My friends were assassinated - that wasn't an accident.'
The pilots family have said that he did everything he could to save the plane from crashing describing him as a hero.
However Moises added: "You can't hope for much from human beings. That guy who was taking the Chapecoense players, he destroyed many families, he destroyed the whole city of Chapeco. For Chapeco get back everything that we were living will take a long time.
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"Many people in Chapeco were dependent on the players, the families of the players, and now what are they going to do?
"This is the question that everybody is asking, what is going to happen to the families?'
"The football club will rise again. But years and years will pass and there will never be a team like this Chapecoense one which conquested the world. He destroyed all that.
"All this good will, and the tributes that are going on around the world, no-one and nothing will be able to bring them back."
There is no doubt that more information will be uncovered in the coming days to paint a clearer picture as to what happened for the plane to crash but there is deep feeling that this could have been avoided had the aircraft had enough fuel.
Commercial aircraft have to carry as much fuel as possible to account for any setbacks or emergencies and a huge risk was taken when the plane took off with just enough for a flight to run on time, but it simply didn't.
The story of this disaster seems only the more worse if it was preventable so many lives have been tragically lost for the sake of assuming there was enough fuel to make it to Medellin.
It was an employee of the Bolivian national aviation agency, Celia Castedo Monasterio that sounded the alarm about the fuel and flight time as she sounded out the flight dispatcher was dismissed.
The dispatcher Alex Quispe was killed in the crash and was reported to have said: 'No, ,a'am, Celia, this endurance that we've got is enough. So do not raise this anymore. We will do it in less time do not worry. Just be quiet, okay.'
It remains to be seen if anyone will be held accountable for this horrific crash as families try to deal with immense loss they are all left with.
Santos went on to say: 'I loved all of them, without exception. I was closest to Lucas Gomes, he was always round my house, or I was round his, every day. But all the boys were my good friends, I loved them all.
'I was at home asleep, when my wife woke me up to tell me there had been an accident with the plane. I got dressed and came to the stadium, it was about 3.30am.
'I didn't have any information about what had really happened. It was only when morning came that I found out that I wouldn't see my friends and work colleagues ever again. This is all really difficult for me.'