Since there was no fire on board, bodies are being identified by fingerprints, Julio Bitelli, Brazil's ambassador to Colombia, told Reuters.

"There's no need for family members to come," he said.

"If they want to come, that's an individual decision that we respect, and we will give all the support needed."He said returning the bodies to Brazil was complicated by the number of victims, but air force planes were ready to take them from Medellin direct to Chapeco, in remote southern Brazil.

Soccer-mad Brazil declared three days of mourning.

It was a bitter twist to a fairy-tale story for Chapecoense. Since 2009, the team rose from Brazil's fourth to top division and was about to play the biggest match in its history in the first leg of the regional cup final in Medellin.

Global soccer greats from Lionel Messi to Pele sent condolences.