Bolivia vows tough action over fatal air crash

Bolivia’s President Evo Morales promised tough action over the airline crash that killed most of the Brazilian football team Chapecoense on Monday night. The deaths of the 71 people, who also included team officials and journalists, in the crash follow indications the British Aerospace regional jet had run out of fuel and amid speculation that it was on a flight path that was longer than its specified range. "Drastic measures will be taken" to determine what went wrong,Morales, an avid football player and fan, said Friday. The use of the relatively unknown airline, LaMia Bolivia, that has no direct flight connections to Brazil has sparked questions over why Chapecoense, a club from Brazil’s southern city of Curitiba, chose it over a regular airline operating out of the country. Morales, who was speaking after Bolivian authorities on Thursday moved to suspend the carrier's operating licence, said that he used to spot aircraft belonging to LaMia that were grounded for months. "It surprised me [the airline] had authorisation” to fly, he added. Reuters reported that LaMia Bolivia was owned by pilot Miguel Quiroga, who died while piloting the crashed aircraft, and Marco Rocha, a former military officer. It said the airline rented its three aircraft, only one of which was operational, from LaMia, a separate corporate entity owned by Venezuelan businessman Ricardo Albacete.<br/>