Plane crash in Brazil’s São Paulo state kills all 61 on board

A plane has crashed in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, killing all 61 people on board.
The twin-engine turboprop plane was flying from Cascavel in the southern state of Paraná to the main airport in São Paulo city when it came down in the town of Vinhedo, the Voepass airline said.

Footage circulating on social media showed a plane descending vertically, spiralling as it fell.

The plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew. Local authorities said there were no survivors.

The airline had initially said there were 58 passengers, but later revised its figure.
Authorities said the plane landed in a residential area, but no-one on the ground was injured.

They said only one home in the local condominium complex had been damaged, while none of the residents were hurt.
Brazil’s GloboNews television network showed pictures of a large area on fire and smoking wreckage in an area full of houses.

Police and fire services are at the scene and local hospitals have been alerted.
According to tracking website Flightradar24, the plane was built in 2010 and left Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT). The last signal received from the aircraft was about an hour and a half later.

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, paid tribute to the victims at an event he was speaking at.

“I have to be the bearer of very bad news and I would like everyone to stand up so that we can have a minute of silence,” he told his audience.

He posted on social media the news of the crash was “Very sad. All my solidarity to the families and friends of the victims.”
The nearby town of Valinhos sent 20 emergency personnel to the crash site as part of a joint operation, local authorities said.

“Twenty men were mobilised, including three vehicles from the Valinhos Municipal Civil Guard and one vehicle from the Civil Defense,” Valinhos City Hall said in a statement.

The governor of São Paulo state, Tarcísio de Freitas, is also heading to the scene.
The plane’s manufacturer ATR said in a statement that it had been informed of an accident involving an ATR 72-500.
“Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this event. The ATR specialists are fully engaged to support both the investigation and the customer,” the Franco-Italian plane maker said. (BBC)