A plane has crashed in São Paulo state, Brazil, resulting in the deaths of all 61 people on board. The twin-engine turboprop, an ATR 72-500, was en route from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo city when it crashed in the town of Vinhedo, according to Voepass airline.
Video footage circulating online shows the plane spiraling as it descended vertically. The aircraft was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members, and local authorities confirmed that there were no survivors. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered his condolences to the victims' families and friends, while São Paulo's state Governor, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, declared three days of mourning.
Authorities have recovered the flight recorders, and ATR, the French-Italian manufacturer of the plane, announced its cooperation with the investigation. The crash occurred in a residential area, but fortunately, no one on the ground was injured, although one home in a local condominium complex was damaged. Video footage from the scene shows a large area engulfed in flames, with smoking wreckage scattered among nearby houses. Police and fire services have responded to the incident.
Tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates that the plane departed Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT), with the last signal from the aircraft received about an hour and a half later. Brazil's civil aviation agency confirmed that the plane, built in 2010, was in good operating condition with valid registration and airworthiness certificates. The four crew members were also properly licensed and qualified.
The Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel revealed that two of its trainee doctors were among those killed in the crash. Local residents witnessed the tragedy, with one, Felipe Magalhaes, describing the terrifying moment he saw the plane crash from his window. Another resident, Nathalie Cicari, recounted hearing a loud noise while having lunch and seeing the plane spinning in the sky, realizing quickly that it was not a normal movement for an aircraft.
This is Brazil's deadliest plane crash since 2007, when a TAM Express plane crashed at São Paulo's Congonhas airport, killing 199 people. President Lula paid tribute to the victims during a speech, asking for a moment of silence and expressing his sorrow on social media, stating that the news of the crash was "very sad" and extending his solidarity to the families and friends of those affected.
Emergency personnel from the nearby town of Valinhos were dispatched to assist at the crash site as part of a joint operation, with 20 personnel and several vehicles involved. ATR, in its statement, expressed its condolences to those affected and pledged full support for the investigation.
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