Before the accident, a player who survived the Colombian air disaster was reading a Bible about “being safe under your wings.”
Chapecoense defender Helio Neto’s Bible was discovered at the scene and given to the footballer’s widow.
According to his wife, Neto, who is still fighting for his life in intensive care, is very religious and carries religious texts with him everywhere.
Psalm 63, which speaks of safety under God’s wings and contemplating God in bed, had a bookmark next to it.
“On my bed I think of you; I think of you in the hours of the night; because you were my helper. Then I will rejoice in the shade of your wings,” he says at length.
“My soul follows you firmly, your right hand keeps me awake.
Journalist Roberto Cabrini appears in a video arriving at the crime scene and picking up the book with the message inside that it belongs to the defense attorney and is in critical condition.
As he realizes what it is, the reporter can be seen clearly shaking.
He reads the name on the inside of the cover with a trembling voice, while the wreckage of the collision can be seen behind him.
In the background, mangled plane bits can be seen, and Cabrini is subsequently seen handing the bible to Neto’s wife, who grins as she realizes what she is receiving.
Doctors have described Neto’s health as ‘delicate,’ saying that he has a serious lung infection,’ and that they have to stabilize him on a daily basis.
Neto, according to his wife, Simone, has a strong trust in God and travels with the Bible.
Simone had previously described her husband telling her on the morning of the flight that he had dreamed the plane had crashed.
‘It’s the first thing he takes when he travels, and here are his annotations,’ Simone remarked as she got the book. ‘I’m extremely pleased to get it back.’
Neto’s lungs, head, knees, and wrists have all had considerable surgery so far.
His family is optimistic that he will fully recover.
When the British-made Avro RJ85 plane crashed en way to Medellin, where Brazilian team Chapecoense was set to play in the Copa Sudamericana final, 71 people died.