Brazil: plane crashes with 62 people on board
Steph Deschamps / August 10, 2024
The plane, which was en route from Cascavel in the southern state of Parana to Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo (southeast), crashed over the town of Vinhedo.
No official death toll has yet been given for the ATR 72, which was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that “it seems” that “all” the people involved had perished, but was not positive.
“Aircraft crash, seven teams involved, only information available at the moment,” Sao Paulo firefighters said on social network X.
In a statement, Voepass reported “the occurrence of an accident on flight 2283” on Friday in the Vinhedo region.
“The aircraft took off from Cascavel bound for Guarulhos. There is no confirmation yet regarding the circumstances of the accident and the current situation of the people on board,” the company added.
The town of Vinhedo, with a population of some 76,000, lies some 80 km northwest of Sao Paulo.
“A plane has just crashed into the town of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members, and it seems that all of them are dead,” said Lula at an official event in Itajai (south). He observed a minute’s silence for the victims.
Images broadcast by local media showed the aircraft plummeting at high speed, while others showed a long column of smoke rising above what appears to be a residential area.
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