The team were on their way from Bolivia to Medellin International Airport ahead of the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final with Colombian side Atletico Nacional.
It is understood that just six passengers - including three players - have survived, with defender Alan Ruschel and goalkeepers Jackson Follmann and Danilo reported to be among those pulled alive from the wreckage.
The footballers had to change their flight and board the plane that crashed after Brazilian aviation authorities prevented them from taking a charter flight, it has been claimed.
The same aircraft carried the Argentina national team to a fixture in Brazil earlier this month and had also previously transported the Venezuela national side.
The first leg of the final, scheduled for Wednesday, has been postponed, while the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) said it was suspending 'all activities.'
Chapecoense issued a short statement that read: 'May God be with our athletes, officials, journalists and other guests travelling with our delegation.'
The British Aerospace 146 short-haul plane, operated by a charter airline called LaMia and carrying 72 passengers and nine crew, declared an emergency at 10pm local time (3am) on Monday night after suffering power failures while flying through the mountainous Antioquia Department.
Premier League club Arsenal were among the many football clubs and footballers who posted tributes on social media after the crash.
Elkin Ospina, the mayor of La Ceja, close to the crash site, said scores of rescuers were at the scene searching for survivors, though poor visibility forced an air force rescue helicopter to turn back.Heavy rainfall also disrupted the overnight rescue efforts.
A video published on the Chapecoense Facebook page showed the team members preparing to board the flight earlier on Monday at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport.
The modest team, from the small city of Chapeco, were enjoying a fairytale season. They had returned to the Brazilian top-flight in 2014 for the first time since the 1970s and made it to the final of the Copa Sudamericana - the South American equivalent of the UEFA Europa League - by beating Argentina's San Lorenzo last week.
The team's vice-president Ivan Tozzo said the city was in tears following the news. He told cable channel SporTV: 'We are very sad, gathered here in the locker room of our stadium. We are still waiting for news. All our board is there, our players. We have nothing concrete on their state.
'There are a lot of people crying in our city, we could never imagine this. Chapecoense is the biggest reason for joy here. We hope there are many survivors, at least that most of them are OK.'
Daily Mail
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