Tragedy strikes Vinhedo: No survivors in Brazilian plane crash
Local authorities reported that in the plane crash that occurred on Friday near Vinhedo, none of the 61 people on board the Brazilian Voepass airline aircraft survived. The plane crash, which fell onto buildings in the Capela neighbourhood, did not result in any ground casualties.
According to the AP agency, the aircraft departed from Cascavel in the state of Parana. On board the twin-engine ART-72 aircraft were 57 passengers and four crew members. Initially, it was reported that there were 62 people on board. The plane was scheduled to land at Guarulhos International Airport. Vinhedo, the site of the tragedy, is a city with over 70,000 inhabitants located about 80 kilometres northwest of Sao Paulo.
Voepass Airline representatives initially did not disclose the possible cause of the incident. Videos of the flight's final moments, showing the plane plummeting almost vertically and rotating around its axis, appeared on social media and in the Brazilian press.
No injuries on the ground
Residents of the neighbourhood, which consists of single-family homes, shared videos online showing the wreckage of the burning plane, which came to a stop near one of the pools. Fortunately, according to local media, no one in the vicinity was hurt, although one property was damaged.
Immediately after the crash, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at a public meeting in the southern part of the country, called on attendees to observe a minute of silence for the victims. "I have to convey really bad news," he told those gathered, informing them of the tragic event.
ATR, the aircraft's manufacturer, expressed in a statement to the media its awareness of the situation and committed to cooperating with the Brazilian Centre for Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents and the police, who have already started investigations to determine the causes of the crash.
