Chapecoense plane crash survivor thanks 'the whole world' for support

Alan Ruschel, one of the six survivors of the plane crash in Colombia that took 71 lives on Nov. 28, sent a message of thanks on Wednesday to Chapecoense and the rest of the world for the support he's received.

The right-back, on loan from fellow Brazilian outfit Internacional, was one of three survivors among the 22 Chapecoense representatives on the flight who were travelling to the first leg of the Copa Sudamericana final against Atletico Nacional in Medellin on Nov. 30.

"Hello people from Brazil and the entire world. Thank you for your prayers, this is Alan Ruschel," he began.

"I wanted to talk to you that I am recovering very well. That soon, very soon, I will be back in Brazil finishing my recovery there as well. I wanted to thank everyone for the strength given and for the words of encouragement that I received. So I wanted to thank the whole world. Thank you very much."

Describing the Chapecoense tragedy as a fairy tale without the happy ending is fitting. Starting in 2009, the club rose steadily from the fourth tier of Brazilian football to falling just short of finishing as its country's champion after a narrow 1-0 loss to Palmeiras. That defeat occurred a day before the players took off for Colombia.

The outreach from Brazil and beyond has been overwhelming. Tributes have poured in from parties as wide-ranging as Serie A's biggest clubs and U.S. metal band Metallica; a somewhat scant but welcome positive to take from such a heart-wrenching incident.

Whether or not Ruschel takes the pitch again, he's the world's hero.