Survivor of Chapecoense tragedy returns to Bolivia

Flight attendant Ximena Suarez, the only woman among the survivors of the crash of a plane carrying Brazil's Chapecoense soccer team to a match in Colombia, has returned to Bolivia.

All but six of the 77 people aboard were killed when the Avro RJ85 jet crashed on the night of November 28 on the approach to the airport in the northwestern city of Medellin, where the club from Chapeco, Brazil, was to face Atletico Nacional in the final of the Copa Sudamericana, reports Efe news agency.

"My deepest condolences to the entire Chapeco family, to the players, for this great tragedy," Suarez told reporters on Monday after disembarking at the airport in the eastern Bolivian city of Santa Cruz, her home town.

The flight attendant rolled off the plane in a wheel chair.

Suarez, a mother of two, was discharged last Friday from the Somer de Rionegro clinic in northwestern Colombia.

Three Chapecoense players also survived the crash, along with the flight engineer and a journalist accompanying the team to Medellin.

"I am happy. Thank you to all the people who have prayed for me," Suarez said after being reunited with her family.

"It's a lot of emotions and I still can't believe what happened."

--IANS

ajb/bg