The charter aircraft was carrying 72 passengers, including members of the Chapecoense team, and nine crew when it crashed en route to Medellin airport.

While as many as six people are reported to have survived the crash, a search has been called off due to heavy fog which prevented rescue helicopters from landing.

As many as 25 bodies have been recovered from the site of the crash. They had been travelling in a British Aerospace 146 short-haul aircraft, operated by Bolivian airline Lamia, which went down at 10pm local time after an emergency was declared because of an electrical problem.

A statement released by Jose Maria Cordova airport in Colombia said: “At the moment we know that the disaster happened in Cerro Gordo in the municipality of La Union and that there were 72 passengers and nine crew aboard, including the football team Chapocoense Real. There are reported to be six survivors.”