Assoicated Press photo.
Vinhedo/Brazil: In a deadly aeroplane crash in the of Vinhedo in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, all on board, that is, 57 passengers, and four crew died on Friday. The ATR 72-500 aeroplane was operated by Voepass airline, and it was travelling from Cascavel in southern Parana state to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, Agence France-Presse reported.
Though Voepass said that at first, the passenger count was 58, it revised the count later to 57.
There were visuals broadcast by local media featuring a large plane spinning as it fell almost vertically. More footage showed a large column of smoke rising from the wreckage site, which appears to be a residential area. Visuals from news agencies showed a large fire in the courtyard of a building, which seemed to be a house that had been partially destroyed.
Firefighters, military police, and civil defences were deployed to the site on time, it is learned. Also, the plane’s black has been found and secured.
The city administration, which was involved in the rescue operations after the crash, said that there were no survivors. The recovery of the victims’ remains for identification ran late into the night.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of mourning.
Meanwhile, the airline Voepass said that it was cooperating with the authorities to find the cause of the crash. It is giving full support to the victims on the flight too, it said, adding that the plane was a twin-engine turboprop that took off without any flight restrictions and will be systems operational.
However, the CENIPA aviation accident agency in Brazil started an investigation of the horrendous accident. Also, a Franc0-Italian aircraft maker and Airbus subsidiary, ATR, is working with the probe agency to assist it.