First words of Colombia plane crash survivor Alan Ruschel after being pulled from wreckage where 71 died
A RESCUER has revealed the first words spoken by one of the few people to make it out of the tragic plane crash in Colombia which killed 75 people this week.
Volunteer emergency responder Santiago Campuzano was one of those who arrived on the scene of the horrific crash to search for survivors.
The charter plane carrying Brazilian football team Chapecoense came down near the city of Medellin after declaring an emergency.
Of the 77 people now confirmed to have been on board, 71 were killed in the Colombia plane crash.
One of just six survivors on the aircraft was defender Alan Ruschel.
Upon finding the stricken sportsman amongst the wreckage, Santiago told the footballer murmured: “My family, my friends, where are they?”
Ruschel, 27, was pictured arriving at hospital, battered and bruised on a stretcher this week.
He suffered spinal injuries in the crash, but is now thought to be in a stable condition.
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Local media reported the footie ace asked medics to leave his wedding ring on as he was treated, and begged to speak to his family.
Ruschel's wife Moa has since taken to Instagram to speak of her relief.
She wrote: “Thank God Alan is in the hospital. We are praying for everyone who wasn't saved.”
The Chapecoense squad, who had been described by coach Caio Júnior as "Brazil's Leicester", were on their way to the first leg of the final of the Copa Sudamericana in Colombia — a game tipped as the biggest in the club's history.
They were travelling with a delegation of 21 journalists covering the match.
Meanwhile, experts are scouring the devastated scene to work out exactly what brought down the British-made BA146 plane.
Investigators from Colombia's civil aviation authority will be joined by UK counterparts to scour the wreckage for clues.
They have already found the plane's two black box recorders, which are currently being analysed.
It has been claimed the plane may have run out of fuel as it approached Medellin international airport.
Electrical faults that were reported from the plane in its final moments may have emerged because the plane's engines were starved of fuel.
Photos from the crash site have helped back up this theory.
They appear to the show the engines' rotor blades are intact and undamaged, suggesting they were switched off and not turning when the plane hit the ground.
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