A plane with 58 passengers and four crew members on board crashed on Friday in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, Brazilian media reported. The local fire department confirmed that the accident occurred in the city of Vinhedo, according to the G1 portal, in the Recanto Florido residential complex.
During an event scheduled for this afternoon in the south of the country, President Lula da Silva asked for a minute of silence for all the victims, given that “it seems that all the passengers died.”
“I have to bear very bad news and I would like to ask everyone to stand and observe a minute of silence. A plane has just crashed in the city of Vinhedo, in Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and 4 crew members and it seems that everyone has died,” Lula said during his speech in Itajaí, Santa Catarina, and extended his condolences to the families of the victims.
Brazilian television network GloboNews showed images of a large area of flames and smoke coming out of an apparent fuselage of the plane. Other images from GloboNews showed a plane spiraling downwards while one user shared the flames and thick black smoke coming out of the plane, which had crashed metres from his house, among the trees.
However, according to Vinhedo’s Security Secretary, Osmir Cruz, none of the people inside the house were injured.
Nathalie Cicari, one of the neighbors, told CNN Brasil that the moment was “terrifying.”
“I was having lunch, I heard a very loud noise very close to me, I thought it was a drone,” but “much louder,” he began to narrate about the seconds before the accident. “I went out to the balcony and saw the plane spinning in a whirlpool. In seconds I realized that it was not a normal movement for a plane. I only had time to crouch down and, like they do in the movies, pray. That was when I heard the enormous noise of the fall (and saw) the black smoke rising,” he added.
According to the airline, VOEPASS Linhas Aéreas, the plane was an ATR-72 turboprop aircraft that was flying from Cascavel to Guarulhos. This model has the capacity to carry 68 passengers, although it was not fully loaded.
According to the aviation website Flightradar, the plane had made two more flights on Friday morning before crashing.
The first emergency call was made at 13:28 local time on Rua Joao Edueta, near the Miguel Melhado de Campos road, and seven emergency units were immediately mobilised to the site, including firefighters, members of the Civil Protection unit and the Military Police. In addition, the nearby Vinhedo and Valinhos hospitals are on alert for injured people.
Shortly after the news broke, VOEPASS Linhas Aéreas issued a statement confirming the incident on “flight 2283 – PS – VPB aircraft” and stating that it “used all means to support those involved” although “there is still no information on how the accident occurred or the situation of the people on board.”
Cascavel Airport and the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) also indicated that the corresponding protocols have been activated and all operations are being carried out both on-site, with regard to the possible victims, and in communication with their families.
Meanwhile, the local Executive informed that Governor Tarcísio de Freitas is returning to the state, given that he was away on official activities, and is heading “to the municipality of Vinhedo” to “continue the work” that is being carried out.
The town of Vinhedo, with about 76,000 inhabitants, is located about 80 kilometers northwest of Sao Paulo.
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