In Brazil, thousands of people filled a stadium to bid farewell to members and fans of a football team. Nineteen players from the Chapecoense club were among the 71 victims in a plane crash in Colombia on Monday that brought an end to an inspiring run from a small town team.
Tens of thousands of Cubans packed into Santiago’s revolution square for the final mass tribute to Fidel Castro.
Wearing plastic ponchos, Chapecoense fans once again crowded the stands of their beloved club. This time, crying under a heavy rain that added more sorrow to Saturday’s funeral. The small venue was decorated with flowers to receive the bodies of the victims of this week’s plane crash in Colombia.
Monday’s night crash killed 19 players, most of the club’s staff and 20 sport journalists. Six survived—two crew members, a journalist and three players. Chapecoense was flying a chartered plane for the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, a fairytale for the club that just recently jumped to the first division. It was a shock for the football world.
In the response to support from thousands of fans and players from Brazil and around the world, Chapecoense has hung big banners to say thank you in several languages.
Brazilian President Michel Temer greeted the arrival of the coffins in Chapeco’s airport. The funeral at the stadium was for people of this small town to get back on their feet, but it will not be easy.