'They stood up and shouted when the plane started to crash. I am alive because I curled up in foetal position': Crew member describes terrifying final moments of doomed Colombian flight

  • Crew member Erwin Tumiri was one of only six people to survive the crash
  • The CP-2933 jet crashed into remote mountains of Cerro Gordo, killing 71
  • Mr Tumiri says he lived through it because he 'followed safety procedures'
  • Stewardess Ximena Suarez said the lights went out as plane plummeted
  • Jet crashed 30 miles from destination after suffering electrical problems

A crew member pulled from the wreckage of the Colombian plane crash has described the dramatic final moments before the jet went down as more details emerged of the six survivors.

Erwin Tumiri said terrified passengers left their seats and started screaming as the CP-2933 plane, struck by catastrophic electrical problems, began to plummet into a mountainside.

He says he was one of only six to survive the disaster which killed 71 - including all but three members of the Chapecoense football team - because he 'followed safety procedures'.

It comes as it emerged that Alan Ruschel, one of the players who survived, asked rescuers 'My family, my friends, where are they?' as he was being lifted from the crash site.

Crew member Erwin Tumiri, pictured, has revealed the dramatic final moments of the Colombian plane disaster that killed 71 people

Mr Tumiri told rescuers who hiked up the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo that he survived because he 'followed safety procedures

Mr Tumiri told rescuers who hiked up the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo that he survived because he 'followed safety procedures

Stewardess Ximena Suarez, pictured, who also survived the crash, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down

Stewardess Ximena Suarez, pictured, who also survived the crash, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down

Mr Tumiri revealed how passengers got up and started screaming as the CP-2933 plane began to plummet

Mr Tumiri revealed how passengers got up and started screaming as the CP-2933 plane began to plummet into a mountainside after suffering electrical failure. Pictured: Rescuers pouring through the wreckage

'I put the bags in between my legs to form the foetal position that is recommended in the accidents,' Mr Tumiri told rescuers who hiked up the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo.

'During the situation, many stood up from their seats and they started to shout,' Fox Sports Argentina quoted him as saying. 

Another survivor, stewardess Ximena Suarez, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down.

'I don't remember more at the moment,' she explained, according to a Deportes RCN report.

As Brazil declared three days of mourning, Colombia's civil aviation authority identified the three players who had survived the crash. 

The defender Neto (circled) was among just six who survived. Pictured from back left - Danilo, Mateus Caramelo, Cleber Santana, Willian Thiego, Neto and Josimar. From front left - Kempes, Ananias, Tiaguinho, Gil, Dener

The defender Neto (circled) was among just six who survived. Pictured from back left - Danilo, Mateus Caramelo, Cleber Santana, Willian Thiego, Neto and Josimar. From front left - Kempes, Ananias, Tiaguinho, Gil, Dener

Footballer Neto (pictured) suffered trauma to his head, thorax and lungs, as well as open wounds to his knees

Footballer Neto (pictured) suffered trauma to his head, thorax and lungs, as well as open wounds to his knees

Defender Alan Ruschel was also pulled from the remains of the aircraft
Goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, who survived the crash, has had to have his right leg amputated, it has emerged

Goalkeeper Jackson Follmann (right), who survived the crash, has had to have his right leg amputated, it has emerged. Defender Alan Ruschel (left) was also pulled from the remains of the aircraft

Journalist Rafael Valmorbida (pictured) also survived and is in 'very delicate but stable' condition in intensive care

Journalist Rafael Valmorbida (pictured) also survived and is in 'very delicate but stable' condition in intensive care

The wife of Alan Ruschel (left) wrote: 'Thank God Alan is the hospital...we are praying for everyone who wasn't saved' 

The wife of Alan Ruschel (left) wrote: 'Thank God Alan is the hospital...we are praying for everyone who wasn't saved' 

United for the last time, this is the Brazilian football team posing together in front of a passenger jet before their doomed flight crashed in Colombia, killing 71 on board

United for the last time, this is the Brazilian football team posing together in front of a passenger jet before their doomed flight crashed in Colombia, killing 71 on board

Chapecoense defenders Alan Ruschel, 27, and Helio Neto, 31, as well as goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, 24, were found alive at the crash site. Journalist Rafael Valmorbida, who worked for Chapeco's West Capital Radio and had 20 years of experience in the industry, also survived.

Neto and Valmorbida were in 'very delicate but stable' condition in intensive care, Dr. Guillermo Molina, head of a clinic treating them, said. 

Neto suffered trauma to his head, thorax and lungs, as well as open wounds to his knees.

Ruschel was also in intensive care but in stable condition, Dr. Ana Maria Gonzalez, director of another clinic also attending them, said. The two members of the flight staff were out of danger and under observation, she said.

Stewardess Ximena Suarez, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down
Stewardess Ximena Suarez, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down

Stewardess Ximena Suarez, told a government official the lights went off as the jet started to go down

Bolivian crew members Ximena Suarez (pictured) and Erwin Tumiri are listed in stable condition in hospital and are recovering

Bolivian crew members Ximena Suarez (pictured) and Erwin Tumiri are listed in stable condition in hospital and are recovering

Ximena Suarez (pictured) said the lights went out but that 'I don't remember more at the moment'

Ximena Suarez (pictured) said the lights went out but that 'I don't remember more at the moment'

Follmann had his right leg amputated, according to Chapecoense spokesman Gelson Dalla Costa.

The team's goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31, died on the way to hospital after the crash.

He and Ruschel had earlier posed for selfies during the journey from Brazil with Ruschel, 27, telling fans: 'We're coming Colombia.

Ruschel's wife Moa has since spoken of her relief after her husband survived writing on Instagram: 'Thank God Alan is in the hospital. We are praying for everyone who wasn't saved.' 

According to volunteer rescuer Santiago Campuzano, Ruschel was being stretchered to safety when he mustered the strength to ask him: 'My family, my friends, where are they?' 

Treatment: Survivor Alan Ruschel is pictured on a stretcher following the crash in Colombia

Ruschel (pictured on a stretcher) following the crash in Colombia last night 

Ruschel (pictured) was one of just six survivors from the crash and is now being treated in hospital for a fractured spine

Ruschel (pictured) was one of just six survivors from the crash and is now being treated in hospital for a fractured spine

The 27-year-old defender Alan Ruschel (right)was on loan to Chapecoense from Internacional 

The 27-year-old defender Alan Ruschel (right)was on loan to Chapecoense from Internacional 

Goalkeeper Jackson Follmann has undergone an amputation in hospital, it has emerged

Goalkeeper Jackson Follmann has undergone an amputation in hospital, it has emerged

Helio Hermito Zampier Neto found alive in the wreckage of the plane. He is pictured being treated by medics

Helio Hermito Zampier Neto found alive in the wreckage of the plane. He is pictured being treated by medics

THe plane went down in the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo around 30 miles, or four minutes from Medellin, where it was due to land

THe plane went down in the remote mountains of Cerro Gordo around 30 miles, or four minutes from Medellin, where it was due to land

PilotMiguel 'Micky' Quiroga, 54, was initially believed to have dumped the plane's fuel so it would not explode when it went down 30 miles, or four minutes, from Medellin, where it was due to land.

It was believed Mr Quiroga's quick-thinking was the reason six people survived the LAMIA Bolivia Avro RJ-85 air tragedy.

But investigators have since said it is 'very suspicious' the plane did not blow up and there are fears the jet may have run out of fuel.

The charter flight from the Bolivian city of Santa Cruz reported 'electrical failures' around 10pm local time on Monday (3am GMT Tuesday).

The plane broke apart on impact, plastering the mountainside in white fuselage but its two black boxes have since been found.

Doctors have been treating traumatized the survivors - three footballers, a journalist and the two crew members - as an investigation into the crash began.

Investigators from Brazil flew in to join Colombian counterparts checking two black boxes from the crash site on a muddy hillside in wooded highlands near La Union town. 

It is believed pilot Miguel 'Micky' Quiroga, 54, dumped the plane's fuel so it would not explode when it crashed

It is believed pilot Miguel 'Micky' Quiroga, 54, dumped the plane's fuel so it would not explode when it crashed

Doctors have been treating traumatized the survivors - three footballers, a journalist and the two crew members. Pictured: Rescue workers with victims' bodies from the crash

Doctors have been treating traumatized the survivors - three footballers, a journalist and the two crew members. Pictured: Rescue workers with victims' bodies from the crash

Locals are accustomed to planes flying overhead at all hours but many were disturbed by the massive bang the echoed through the hillside.

'It came over my house, but there was no noise, the engine must have gone,' said Nancy Munoz, 35, who grows strawberries in the area.

'I thought it was a bomb, because the FARC rebels used to attack military infrastructure here. Then we heard the rescuers arriving,' her husband Fabian added.

By nightfall on Tuesday, rescuers had recovered most of the bodies which were to be repatriated to Brazil and Bolivia, where all the plane's nine-person crew were from.

Soldiers guarded the wreckage overnight after rescuers left, and investigators were to start work at first light. 

The plane was carrying Brazilian club side Chapecoense Real to the first of two games to decide the Copa Sudamericana, South America's second-biggest club tournament.

The disaster killed almost all of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real, whose players were preparing to play in the Copa Sudamerica final

The disaster killed almost all of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense Real, whose players were preparing to play in the Copa Sudamerica final

Chapecoense's opponents Atletico Nacional, of Medellin, asked for the winning trophy to be awarded to Chapecoense in honour of their dead

Chapecoense's opponents Atletico Nacional, of Medellin, asked for the winning trophy to be awarded to Chapecoense in honour of their dead

Based in the city of Chapeco, in southern Brazil, the unsung team was having a Cinderella season after defying the odds to reach the finals.

The team's goalkeeper Marcos Danilo Padilha, 31,  whose heroic last minute save assured their progression, died on the way to hospital after the crash. 

Soccer-mad Brazil declared three days of mourning while their opponents Atletico Nacional, of Medellin, asked for the winning trophy to be awarded to the Brazilians in honour of the dead.

Fellow top division Brazilian sides also showed solidarity by offering loan players to Chapecoense and urging the national federation to give it a three-year stay against relegation while the club gets back on its feet.

Meanwhile the legends of the sport - from Lionel Messi to Pele - sent condolences.

Colombia plane crash: Crew member who survived reveals final moments of doomed flight

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