A tragic plane crash occurred on Friday in the São Paulo region of southeastern Brazil, claiming the lives of all 61 people on board. The cause of the aircraft's dramatic nosedive into a residential area remains unknown at this time.
The aircraft, manufactured by the Franco-Italian company ATR, was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members, according to the airline Voepass.
The flight was en route from Cascavel in the southern state of Parana to Guarulhos International Airport in São Paulo. After a sudden and severe descent, the plane crashed at 1:25 PM local time (12:25 PM Eastern Time) in Vinhedo, a town of 76,000 residents located about 80 kilometers northwest of São Paulo, causing widespread panic among the locals.
"There were no survivors," stated the Valinhos City Hall, which assisted in the rescue operations in the nearby town of Vinhedo, in an email to AFP.
Local media aired footage showing the plane plummeting at high speed, followed by images of a towering column of smoke rising from the crash site, a residential neighborhood where, fortunately, no residents were harmed.
An investigation has been launched by Brazil's Center for Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents (Cenipa) to determine the cause of the tragedy.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning following the "tragic accident."
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