BRAZIL: A tragic plane crash in São Paulo state, Brazil, has resulted in the loss of all 61 passengers and crew on board. The aircraft, a twin-engine turboprop, was traveling from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos Airport in São Paulo when it tragically crashed in the town of Vinhedo, according to Voepass airline.
Disturbing footage circulating online shows the plane spiraling downward before crashing. The ATR 72-500, which was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members, left no survivors. The crash has deeply shaken the nation, with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressing his condolences to the families and friends of those who perished.
In response to the disaster, São Paulo's Governor, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, has declared three days of mourning. Authorities have already recovered the flight recorders, and ATR, the French-Italian manufacturer of the plane, has pledged full cooperation with the investigation.
The plane crashed into a residential area, but fortunately, no one on the ground was harmed. Despite the devastating impact, which caused a large fire and left wreckage scattered across the area, only one home in a local condominium was damaged.
The aircraft took off from Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT), and the last signal was received about an hour and a half later, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. Brazil’s civil aviation agency confirmed that the plane was in good operational condition with all necessary certifications, and the crew was fully licensed and qualified.
Among the victims were two trainee doctors from the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel. This disaster marks Brazil's worst plane crash since 2007 when a TAM Express flight crashed at São Paulo’s Congonhas Airport, claiming 199 lives.
President Lula acknowledged the tragedy during a public event, asking attendees to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims. Emergency response teams from the nearby town of Valinhos were quickly mobilized to the crash site, providing essential support in the aftermath.
In a statement, ATR expressed their deep sorrow over the accident, stating that their specialists are fully engaged in supporting both the investigation and the airline.
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