The pilot of the doomed Colombian flight carrying members of the Chapecoense football team warned the plane was in "total electrical failure" and was out of fuel in a mayday call to controllers.

He can be heard asking "where is the runway" in a recording of a desperate call for help made minutes before the flight crashed into the side of a mountain, killing 71 people on board.

Controllers are then heard giving instructions and saying the flight was just 8.2 miles from a runway as they tried to guide the plane in to safety.

However the line went silent and another controller is heard saying "They don't answer any more".

Just six people survived the crash in a disaster that has sent Colombia into mourning.

The flight control recordings, obtained by several Colombian media outlets, seemed to confirm the accounts of a surviving flight attendant and a pilot flying nearby who overheard the frantic pleas from the doomed airliner.

Colombian authorities have said they are keeping an open mind about the cause of the crash, which had just six survivors.

However experts have said the lack of explosion on impact supports reports that the plane failed due to running out of fuel.

It has also emerged that the British-built jet, which was chartered by the football team, was flying at its maximum possible range on the journey.

Rescuers described arriving to a scene of horror as survivors cried out for help amid the wreckage.

Arquimedes Mejia, a fire chief, said: "We saw dead bodies everywhere at the site and there were people screaming for help."

There are also reports that the football team's defender Alan Ruschel, who was one of the survivors, asked ""My family, my friends, where are they?" as he was pulled from the plane.

He is thought to be in a stable condition in hospital.

Fans have been holding ceremonies to remember the victims of the crash in emotional scenes.

Meanwhile investigators have warned that it is likely to be months before they can give an official report into the cause of the accident.