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Report: Argentina national team used doomed plane 2 weeks before crash

Marcos Brindicci / Reuters

The plane involved in Monday's deadly Chapecoense crash was allegedly the same one that Argentina's national team used earlier this month after a World Cup qualifier.

Related: Plane carrying a Brazilian soccer club crashes in Colombia; 71 dead

Multiple reports suggest Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, and the Argentine national team travelled back to Bueno Aires in the same BAE 146 aircraft after falling 3-0 to Brazil on Nov. 10.

The Independent credits a plane-spotting account on Twitter with identifying the plane used by Argentina as the same one that crashed into a mountainous region near Medellin, Colombia:

The British Aerospace 146 plane, which has been confirmed by the Jose Maria Cordova International Airport as LAMIA Bolivia RJ85, registration CP-2933, was used to fly Lionel Messi and his team from Belo Horizonte to the Ezeiza International airport earlier in November.

Related: Football world pays tribute after Brazilian club's deadly plane crash

A video posted on Twitter purports to show the Argentine team departing a plane that looks similar to the one that Chapecoense players and coaches were photographed in front of before boarding.

Related: Chapecoense's fallen 'warriors' remembered in touching video

In total, 71 people died during Monday's crash, including 19 of the 22 Chapecoense players on board. Two crew members and a journalist also survived.

Related: Atletico Nacional requests cup goes to Chapecoense after plane tragedy

Messi issued a statement Tuesday expressing his condolences:

My deepest condolences go to all of the families, friends, and supporters of the Associacao Chapecoense de Futebol squad.

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