61 killed in Sao Paulo plane crash

(dpa/Reuters) A plane with 61 people on board crashed in a residential area of ​​Vinhedo, Sao Paulo state, Brazil. The city government told the German news agency Deutsche Telekom that no passengers survived the accident early Friday afternoon (local time). According to VoePass Airlines, there were 57 passengers and four crew members on board. The airline initially said there were 58 passengers, but corrected this statement a few hours later.

The plane was flying from Cascavel, Paraná state, to Guarulhos, Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo Guarulhos Airport is the largest in Brazil. Just about 19 months ago, a similar plane crashed in Nepal, killing dozens of people. In its first Instagram post about the accident, VoePass Airlines said it could not yet reveal the cause of the crash.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked those present to observe a minute’s silence at an event in the south of the country. «Very sad news. My sympathy goes to the families and friends of the victims,» Lula said on the X platform.

The plane crashed into a residential area

The news portal “G1” quoted Vinedo authorities as saying that the plane crashed in a residential area, near a residential house. A residential building in the settlement was damaged, but no one was injured.

A man who lives nearby said he heard a loud bang and then looked out from his home in Vigneto and saw the plane spiraling downward. “The propeller was turning, but it wasn’t moving forward,” he told Reuters. “Shortly after that it fell from the sky and exploded.” He speculated: “I almost believe the pilot was trying to fly around the densely populated residential area nearby.”

“I’ve never heard such a loud explosion in my life,” a local resident, who filmed the plane burning inside his home, told UOL television.

According to the fire department, rescue teams are on the scene. Hospitals in Vinedo are on special alert. In addition to the fire department, civil protection and police are also on duty, according to “G1”.

Pictures and videos on social networks showed how a plane spun and fell from the sky, with thick smoke rising.

“I express my solidarity with all the victims and those affected by this tragedy,” said Sao Paulo Governor Tarcisio de Freitas, who pledged all necessary support.

According to the UOL news portal, the accident is one of the worst in Brazilian aviation history. Many people remember the crash that occurred on November 28, 2016, when the plane of Brazilian football club Chapecoense crashed in Colombia on its way to Medellín for the first leg of the South American Cup final. A total of 71 people died, including almost all the players as well as the director, coach and accompanying journalists. Six passengers survived.

The plane that crashed on Friday was an ATR 72 turboprop airliner, a shoulder-wing aircraft of the French-Italian consortium Avions de Transport Régional. In January 2023, an ATR 72-500 crashed while approaching Nepal’s Pakora International Airport, killing 72 passengers, including four crew members. The manufacturer of the machine’s drives is Pratt & Whitney Canada, the parent company RTX Corp announced.