The plane, an ATR-72 of the Voepass company, was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, to Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo.
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The 61 people on board the Voepass airline plane died on Friday, August 9, in the crash of their aircraft in the Sao Paulo region, in the southeast of Brazil. The causes of this tragedy remain unknown for the time being. The plane, an ATR-72 carrying 58 passengers and four crew members, was traveling from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, to Guarulhos international airport.
After a sudden steep descent, it crashed at 1:25 p.m. (local time) in Vinhedo, a town located some 80 km northwest of Sao Paulo. The airline, Voepass, which initially reported 62 people on board, revised this figure downwards, referring in a statement “57 passengers and four crew members”.
“There were no survivors”the Valinhos city hall, which participated in the rescue operations in the neighboring town of Vinhedo, said in an email to AFP. President Lula deplored the tragedy at an official event and observed a minute of silence for the victims. “A plane has just crashed in the city of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members and it seems that all are dead”Lula said, before this toll was confirmed.
In a statement, Voepass reported “the occurrence of an accident of flight 2283”specifying that“There is no confirmation yet regarding the circumstances of the accident”. According to the Brazilian Air Force, the flight “proceeded normally until 1:20 p.m. (local time)”. But a minute later, “the aircraft did not respond to calls” from the control tower, and “nor did he declare that he was in an emergency situation or facing adverse weather conditions.”.
