The son of Chapecoense's manager, who died in the Colombia plane crash, has revealed that he did not board the doomed plane because he had forgotten his passport.

The Brazilian team were travelling to Medellin for the final of the Copa Sudamericana when their plane lost power and came down at around 10.15pm local time, and all but five people have died in the crash.

Matheus Saroli revealed on social media that he was due to travel with his father Caio Junior and asked for privacy for his family.

"Friends, me, my brother and my mum are okay. We need strength and some privacy, especially my mother," the 21-year-old wrote on Facebook.

"But thank you to everyone for all the messages. I was in SP (Sao Paulo) today and I did not board because I had forgotten my passport.

"We are strong and we will get through this. Thank you for all of your messages."

Chapecoense had reached the final of the competition for the first time, just two years after they had earned promotion to Brazil's top flight.