Tone-deaf homage to Chapecoense’s tragic plane crash that killed 71 causes uproar in Colombia after giant replica model of the aircraft was put on display for festive decorations before being removed

• A plane carrying Brazilian side Chapecoense crashed in 2016, killing 71 people
• Locals in La Union, Colombia, reacted furiously to a recreation of the wreckage
• The large model, part of the town’s festive decorations, has now been removed 

The mayor of the town nearest the site of one of the world’s worst sporting history disasters has apologised over a freakish Christmas decoration replica model of a plane 19 footballers died on.

Locals in La Union near the city of Medellin were left furious after waking up to see the fuselage of a recreation of the wrecked aircraft Brazilian side Chapecoense crashed in rising into the air from its main park by a town centre church.

The model, thought to have been put together using strips of aluminium, was going to form part of La Union’s festive decorations as part of a bizarre homage to the 71 people who lost their lives.

But repentant mayor Edgar Osorio has now ordered its removal in the run-up to the seventh anniversary of the horror November 28 2016 accident after a barrage of criticism.

Mr Osorio, confirming the decision had been taken in the face of local anger, said: ‘Given the installation of a replica model of the plane, referencing the tragedy nearly seven years which marked our community, has generated different reactions on social media, we have taken the decision to remove it from the main park.

A large replica of Chapecoense’s crashed plane has sparked uproar in a town in Colombia

The tone-deaf model, part of La Union’s festive decorations this year, has now been removed

‘The Christmas decorations were never intended to hurt peoples’ sensibility, but we understand the discomfort it has caused and therefore we offer our apologies and will proceed to remove it.’

He added in a local radio interview: ‘I took the decision thinking about our Brazilian brothers.

‘We have the commemoration of the accident on Tuesday and I know many of them are going to be here.

‘There’s going to be a religious event and institutional acts, they always come, they do so every year.

‘If at any moment someone on this planet has been offended, I offer my apologies as mayor.

‘The Christmas decorations will be lit up without the Chapecoense plane replica model.’

The design depicted the fuselage of a recreation of the wrecked aircraft, in which 71 died

After a host of complaints from residents, work began on deconstructing the aluminum frame

Angry La Union resident Oliva Mejia, venting her fury at her town hall over the replica of the fuselage of the Avro RJ85 which went down killing 71 of the 77 people on board, said: ‘Out of a tragedy, the only thing they’ve done is make themselves look ridiculous.’

Santiago Campuzano added: ‘It makes you sad, because it looks like they’re celebrating and revelling in the suffering of other people.’

Another wrote on social media: ‘It was so odd seeing this representation of a plane wreckage at the centre of La Union’s Christmas decorations, when these decorations are supposed to represent a festive era and a period of celebration.

‘Are we really celebrating a tragedy?’

Reacting to the decision to remove the replica, local resident Rodrigo Botero said: ‘I’m glad because it means they’ve listened to the people and the clamour of the community who were unhappy with what they were seeing.’

Only three Chapecoense players survived the LaMia Flight 2933 crash, which happened when the plane ran out of fuel as the team came in for landing in Medellin where they were due to play the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals.

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

The replica was moved onto the back of trucks and taken away from the town centre church

The town’s mayor, Edgar Osorio, apologised in a statement and insisted no harm was meant

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

The Brazilian football team, then in the country’s top-flight Serie A league, ended up being relegated to the Serie B division two league in 2019 and have just survived a drop to the third division with a 1-1 draw against Vitoria.

Chapecoense were only able to continue competing following the air crash tragedy after clubs in Brazil made contracted players temporarily available to their rivals.

In March 2021 Erwin Tumiri, one of the six survivors, walked away from a coach crash that claimed the lives of 21 people.

The 30-year-old cheated death for a second time in less than five years after the packed vehicle careered down a hillside near the Bolivian city of Cochabamba.

The Chapecoense air disaster occurred in the municipality of La Union, about 40 miles from the city of Medellin.

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