Chapecoense crash survivor Henzel dies of a heart attack playing football

March 28 – Rafael Henzel, a radio reporter who was one of only six survivors of the plane crash that killed most of the Chapecoense football team in 2016, has died of a heart attack at the age of 45.

Henzel apparently fell ill after playing football with friends having been described as a “symbol of the club’s reconstruction”.

Henzel, three Chapecoense players and two LaMia airline workers survived the November 2016 accident, which killed 71 people including including 19 players of the Brazilian club which was en route to the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atlético Nacional.

Chapecoense were later declared posthumous champions of South America’s second-most prestigious tournament.

Globo reported that Henzel collapsed while playing football in the southern city of Chapeco and despite being rushed to hospital died soon after. A highly respected figure in the area, he had returned to his radio job after recovering from the crash.

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