All 62 people on board a plane crash near Sao Paulo, Brazil have died. This regional turboprop plane going to Sao Paulo crashed in a residential area near Vinhedo on Friday.
Videos shared on social media showed the ATR-manufactured aircraft losing control and spinning before crashing into a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a huge plume of black smoke.
Officials in Valinhos, near Vinhedo, confirmed there were no survivors. Only one home in a nearby condominium complex was damaged, and no residents were injured.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at an event shortly after the accident, delivered the tragic news and requested a minute of silence for the victims. “I have to be the bearer of really bad news,” the president said.
The plane, operated by Voepas, took off from Cascavel in the state of Paraná and was headed to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport when it crashed in Vinhedo, about 50 miles northwest of Sao Paulo.
According to the report, unlisted airline Voepass said it could not provide further details about the cause of the crash. The aircraft, identified by Flightradar24 as an ATR 72-500 turboprop, had registration PS-VPB.
ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo.
Immediately after the accident, the São Paulo State Fire Brigade dispatched seven crews to the scene.