Nation mourns soccer team crash victims

A downpour drenched thousands of mourners in the Brazilian city of Chapeco on Saturday as they grieved over 50 caskets flown overnight to the stadium of the local Chapecoense soccer team, which was all but wiped out in an air crash on Monday in Colombia.

An arena filled with banners and team faithful donning its green and white colors served as an open-air wake for locals. Just a week ago, they were braced to celebrate the plucky squad, which had ascended from minor leagues in recent years to reach the final of a major South American tournament.

Instead, they looked on as Air Force troops, after unloading the bodies from cargo aircraft, ferried the caskets to makeshift tents erected on the team's soggy home turf, where victims' families sat in sorrow.