A charter aircraft has crashed in Cerro Gordo, Colombia, killing 75 of the 81 people on-board, including 22 players from Brazilian football club Chapecoense.

According to police, survivors included 31-year-old Chapecoense goalkeeper Marcos Danilo, and teammates Alan Ruschel and Jakson Follmann.

The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane was flying from Bolivia to Medellín Airport in Colombia, where the team was scheduled to play the final of the Copa Sudamericana, reported BBC.

"The aircraft was given priority to land but didn’t reach the airport, losing communication with ground controllers around midnight."

A total of 72 passengers and nine crew members were on-board the aircraft, which was operated by Bolivian charter airline Lamia.

The Colombian Civil Aviation Authority noted that the aircraft was given priority to land but didn’t reach the airport, losing communication with ground controllers around midnight.

Around 90 emergency services members were deployed at the crash site, but poor weather has hindered the search operation, forcing the workers to suspend their search until this morning.

According to Brazilian news reports, 21 journalists were among the passengers on-board the crashed plane.