Plane crash in Brazil leaves 62 passengers dead

All 62 passengers in tragic plane crash in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state on Friday have been confirmed dead.
The ill-fated plane carried 58 passengers and 4 crew members.

The aircraft, an ATR 72-500 operated by the airline Voepass, was en route from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport when it went down in the city of Local media footage showed the aircraft plunging nose-first at high speed, with subsequent images revealing a large column of smoke rising from the crash site, which appeared to be in a residential area.

Rescue and recovery efforts were quickly launched by the city government of Valinhos, with officials confirming that there were no survivors.

Vinhedo, a city with about 76,000 residents located 80 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo, was the site of the crash. Before an official death toll was confirmed, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva mentioned the incident during an event, noting that it appeared all on board had perished.

Voepass acknowledged the tragedy, referring to the incident as “an accident involving flight 2283” but did not provide details on how the crash occurred. According to Sao Paulo’s fire department, multiple teams were involved in the response, although no further information was initially available.

A local resident, Nathalie Cicari, described the terrifying moment when she heard a loud noise, saw the plane spinning, and realized something was terribly wrong. She was forced to evacuate her home due to the black smoke that filled the area.

The aircraft involved had its first flight in April 2010, according to the aviation tracking website Planespotters.net.