ENTRE News – A plane crashed in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 58 passengers and four crew members on Friday (9/8). This French-made ATR 72-500 aircraft is operated by the domestic airline Voepass. The plane crashed in the city of Vinhedo, Sao Paolo, while on a flight from Cascavel, southern Parana state, to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport.
Images broadcast on local media showed a large plane diving at high speed. Several other images showed thick clouds of smoke rising from the site of the plane crash, which appeared to be a residential area.
“There are no survivors,” said the Valinhos municipal government.
The city of Vinhedo has about 76,000 residents and is located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo. Before the official death toll was announced, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva had already announced that there were no survivors in the accident.
“A plane just crashed in the city of Vinhedo in Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members on board and apparently everyone died,” Lula said in the middle of a speech in Itajai in Santa Catarina state.
Meanwhile, in a statement, Voepass reported this plane crash “involved flight 2283.”
“There is still no confirmation on how the accident occurred,” Voepass said.
Eyewitness Nathalie Cicari saw the plane as it crashed. He lives near the accident site.
“I was having lunch, I heard a very loud noise nearby,” he said.
Cicari described the sound as like a buzzing but “much louder.”
“I went out on the balcony and saw the plane turning. Within seconds, I realized that it was not a normal movement for a plane,” he said again.
Cicari was not injured but had to evacuate his house because it was filled with black smoke due to the plane crash. Firefighters, military police and state civil defense teams were deployed in the Capela neighborhood, in Vinhedo. The plane that crashed recorded its first flight in April 2010, according to the website planespotters.net.
