Chapecoense plane crash survivor dodges death again

Erwin Tumiri, an aviation technician, has survived a bus accident that killed more than two dozen people in Bolivia on March 2. 

This is the second near-death experience Tumiri has had within a span of five years. He was among the survivors of the tragic 2016 Chapecoense plane crash, which killed 71 people, including several members of the Brazillian football team.

On Tuesday, Tumiri left home for work and took the bus. Along the highway route that leads from Cochabamba to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, the overspeeding bus fell into a 150- metre deep gorge. 

"I crawled out. My knee was injured. I sat down and said, 'Again, I cannot believe it," Tumiri told reporters.

“I feel very blessed by God, although it is very difficult to see that there are people who died". 

The accident claimed the lives of 21 people and injured 30 others.

"I was a little sleepy and listening to music on my cellphone when people started screaming," he recalls the moments before the bus slid off the road.

"The only thing I could do was grab the seat in front of me and lean on the window so that I didn't move when the bus rolled over, because I knew that was going to happen."

"We turned and turned and there were people who didn't hold on and were thrown about as if it were a washing machine."

Surviving the plane crash in 2016

Tumiri had been a crew member in the LaMia Flight 2933 in November 2016 when it crashed near Medellin in Colombia after the jet ran out of fuel.

He was among the six survivors.The Brazilian football team was onboard, en-route to participate in the finals of the Copa Sudamericana, an international competition for South American football teams.

Only three players, a journalist, and two crew members survived along with Tumiri. 

Left-back Alan Ruschel spent more than two weeks in hospital and underwent back surgery. He is the only survivor who returned to the pitch nine months after the tragic incident.

Helio Neto's injuries prevented him from returning to the game, while goalkeeper Jackson Follmann, who had his lower right leg amputated, was forced to retire.

The disaster stunned many around the world.