Plane with 62 passengers aboard crashes in Brazil's São Paulo; all reported dead
Brazil plane crash: While local firefighters confirmed the crash, details about the number of casualties or survivors remain unclear.
All 62 passengers aboard a Brazilian regional turboprop plane died as it crashed in the city of Vinhedo in the country's São Paulo state on Friday.
An ATR-72 aircraft, operated by Voepass Linhas Aéreas, was en route from Cascavel, in the state of Paraná, to Guarulhos in São Paulo when the crash occurred, according to a report by the local news outlet G1.
It crashed in Vinhedo, a town about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of São Paulo.
Video footage shared widely on social media captured the moment the plane plummeted into a densely forested area, followed by a massive plume of black smoke rising from the impact site.
Officials in Valinhos, near Vinhedo, reported that there were no survivors from the crash. Only one house in the nearby condominium complex was damaged, but no residents were injured.
The footage aired on the local TV station GloboNews showed the plane spiralling downward before crashing.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaking at an event after the crash said, “I have to be the bearer of really bad news.”
He added, “A plane just crashed in the city of Vinhedo in Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members and it seems that everyone died.”
He requested a moment of silence for the crash victims.
The airline, which is not publicly listed, said it couldn't provide more details about why the plane, registered as PS-VPB, crashed.
Shortly after the crash, São Paulo's state fire brigade sent seven teams to the site. Sao Paulo's fire department wrote on X, “Aircraft crash, 7 teams involved, so far only this information.”
The crash site was reported to be engulfed in flames, with smoke emanating from what appeared to be the remnants of the plane's fuselage.
FlightRadar24 identified the aircraft as an ATR 72-500 turboprop. ATR, the company that makes the plane, is co-owned by Airbus and the Italian aerospace group Leonardo.