(LibertySociety.com) – Sixty-two people were killed when the passenger plane they were traveling in crashed into a residential community in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo on Friday, August 9.
Sao Paulo officials did not say if anyone in the neighborhood was killed when the plane crashed in the city of Venhedo, northwest of the Sao Paulo metropolitan area. However, witnesses on the ground said none of the locals were hurt.
Voepass airline said the ATR 72 twin-engine plane was on its way to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport when it crashed landed in Vinhedo, killing all 58 passengers and four crew members.
The airline initially said there were 62 people aboard but later revised the total down to 61. But on Saturday, August 10, the airline revised the figure back up to 62 after it discovered that a 58th passenger, Constantino Thé Maia, was not included on the passenger list.
Voepass said in a statement that it was “collaborating with authorities” to determine what led to the accident which was the deadliest airline crash in more than 18 months.
In January 2023, an ATR 72 twin-engine Yeti Airlines plane crashed in Nepal after it stalled while on approach to the airport, killing the 72 people aboard. An investigation later determined that the crash was due to pilot error.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva declared a three-day mourning period for the victims of the August 9 crash. While attending an event in southern Brazil later that day, the president shared the news of the crash and asked the crowd to observe a moment of silence.
Rescue workers recovered the bodies of all 62 passengers by 6:30 p.m. on August 10, according to the Sao Paulo state government. Forensics experts had identified the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot. In total, there were 28 female victims and 34 male victims among the wreckage.
Authorities transferred the bodies to the morgue and requested that family members bring medical records like X-rays and dental records to help identify the victims.
Video footage recorded by witnesses on the ground showed the ATR 72 plane go into a spin before it plunged vertically into the ground.
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