Meet son of Chapecoene coach who missed plane crash because he forgot his passport

Matheus and his dad, Coach Saroli who died in the crash

Matheus Saroli, 25, the son of a head coach of the Brazilian football club on board the doomed Colombia-bound flight has revealed that he was supposed to board the plane but couldn't because he had forgotten his passport.

The British Aerospace 146 plane plane, carrying nearly all of the Chapecoense football team, crashed outside the city of Medellin on Monday night killing 75 and leaving just six survivors – including three players.

Following the tragedy, Matheus whose father, Luiz Carlos Saroli, coached the first-division team and also perished in the crash, wrote a post on Facebook explaining that he had been scheduled to board the plane and thanking people for their support.

Mr Saroli wrote:

“Friends, my brother and my mother are all well. We ask that we are given a little privacy, especially to my mother, and thank all of those sending messages.

“I was in [Sao Paulo] today and I did not board because I forgot my passport. We are strong. We will get through it.”

Later on, in an interview with RPC, Mr Saroli described his final conversation with his father, saying something had felt “different”, indicating that he could sense what was to happen. Close to tears, Mr Saroli said:

“I talked to him several times about various things.

“In the end, at the last moment before we separated, and he left for the airport, it was different. It’s easy to say this now, but I felt something was different.”

The Avro RJ85 plane, which was carrying nine crew, suffered power failures while flying through the Antioquia Department on its way from Bolivia. 

The pilot of the flight had dumped fuel in the moments before the plane came down to stop it turning into a fireball on impact, saving the few who were pulled out alive.