Chapecoense plane crash survivor cheats death AGAIN after miracle escape from horror coach smash that killed 21

A SURVIVOR of the 2016 Chapecoense plane crash has miraculously cheated death AGAIN - after walking away from a coach smash that left 21 people dead.

Erwin Tumiri was one of just six people to survive the 2016 plane crash that tragically killed most of Brazilian football team Chapecoense.

It has now emerged that the 30-year-old has cheated death for a second time in less than five years after a packed coach careered down a hillside near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

The death toll from Tuesday morning’s tragedy currently stands at 21 and more than 30 people are said to have been injured.

Erwin, one of the crew on board the Chapecoense plane, told local media of his incredible new escape.

He said: “I was feeling a bit sleepy and listening to music on my mobile phone when I heard people screaming.

“The only thing I could do was hold onto the seat in front of me, broaden my shoulders and lean against the window so I wouldn’t move as the coach overturned."

Speaking from his hospital bed with a bandage over his right knee but smiling despite his fresh ordeal, he added: “I felt the coach was going to overturn and it did.

"We turned and turned and  there were people who did not hold on and they fell as if they were in a washing machine.

“I remained conscious throughout and managed to crawl out of the vehicle when it came to a halt.

“I can’t believe what’s happened. I’ve got injuries to my arm and I can’t lift it up at the moment.

"But I’ve been told I will recover mobility little by little. And I’ve got a gash on my knee, but that’s all.

“Things happen for a reason, the good times and the bad.”

Lucia Tumiri confirmed her brother was in hospital but had only suffered minor injuries.

She said: “I was very worried but he’s stable and thank God he’s survived once again.

“He has knee injuries and scratches on his back. I’ve spoken to him and he says he’s okay.”

Cristian Rivera Rojas, a traumatologist at Arebalo Hospital in Cochabamba where Erwin is being treated, said: “There are no bone or ligament injuries.

"What Erwin has got is a flesh wound in his knee that needed cleaning and stitches.

“He’s stable, conscious and calm and he will be able to go home soon.”

More than 52 people were on the coach, which plunged nearly 500ft down a steep embankment on the road linking Cochabamba to Bolivia’s largest city Santa Cruz.

It went off the road around 1am yesterday/on Tuesday in an area known as El Canadon, part of the municipality of Colomi in central Bolivia.

Footage from the scene showed the vehicle lying on its side in a clearing among thick vegetation as the first rescuers arrived.

Police chief Jhony Corrales, speaking late yesterday/on Tuesday, said 21 bodies had been recovered but searches were still taking place to see if more people were under the coach.

The plane crash from 2016 was one of the worst tragedies in Brazilian football history.

Mr Tumiri told Fox Sports Argentina how he survived the Chapecoense plane crash.

He said: “I put the bags in between my legs to form the foetal position that is recommended in accidents.”

Mr Tumiri had been a member of the crew of the LaMia Flight 2933 on November 28 2016 which crashed near Medellin in Colombia.

The disaster killed 71 of the 77 people on board including 19 players from the Chapecoense football team, then in Brazil’s top-flight Serie A league.

They were heading to Medellin to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals.

Only three Chapecoense players survived the crash.

Goalkeeper Jakson Ragnar Follman had one of his legs amputated as a result of the accident.

Journalist Rafael Henzel, one of the six survivors, died in March 2019 after suffering a heart attack while he played football with friends.

Chapecoense were relegated to Serie B shortly after the tragedy but secured promotion to Serie A in January.