RUNWAY DISASTER
Brazil plane crash tragedy as four Palmas players and president killed en route to play Vila Nova
FOUR Palmas players and the club president were killed in a runway crash as their plane headed off for a Brazilian cup game.
The pilot of the small plane was also reported to have died as fourth-tier team Palmas said there were no survivors.
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Palmas were jetting off on Sunday for a game at Vila Nova the following day.
The club named president Lucas Meira, plus players Lucas Praxedes, Guilherme Noe, Ranule and Marcus Molinari, as among the six victims.
The pilot, named only as Wagner, was also killed.
News agency Reuters quoted a Palmas spokesperson as saying: "The plane took off and crashed at the end of the runway at the Tocantinense Aviation Association.
"We regret to report there are no survivors."
Palmas were flying to Goiania, around 500 miles from where they were due to play Vila Nova in the last 16 of the Copa Verde.
The tournament is for teams outside the traditional powerhouses of southern and northeastern Brazil.
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Palmas did not say what type of plane was involved in the accident, which is just the latest air tragedy to befall Brazilian football in recent years.
Nineteen Chapecoense players died when a plane taking them to the Copa Sudamericana final in Colombia crashed on a hillside outside Medellin in 2016.
And two years before that, ex-Internacional captain Fernandao was killed when his helicopter crashed in the state of Goias.