•Plane crash
Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has declared three days of mourning following the crash of an aeroplane, which claimed 61 lives.
An aeroplane carrying 57 passengers and four crew members crashed yesterday in Brazil’s Sao Paulo, killing everyone on board, according to the airline.
The Voepass airliner, an ATR 72-500, was flying from Cascavel in southern Parana State to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport when it crashed in Vinhedo, reports AFP.
Voepass first stated that the jet was carrying 58 people; however, a statement on the airline’s website later changed that amount to 57.
Images shown by local media showed a big plane spinning as it fell almost vertically, while other footage showed a large column of smoke rising from the crash scene in what appeared to be a residential neighbourhood.
“There were no survivors,” the city government in Valinhos, which was involved in the rescue and recovery operation in nearby Vinhedo, said in an interview with our correspondent.
Voepass stated that it was working with authorities to “determine the causes of the accident,” while also providing full support to the relatives of the victims on flight 2283.
The plane, a twin-engine turboprop, took off “without any flight restrictions, with all of its systems operational,” the company stated.
The Brazilian aircraft accident body, CENIPA, has initiated an inquiry.
ATR, a Franco-Italian aircraft manufacturer and Airbus subsidiary, said its experts were working to assist investigators.
