Authorities have confirmed that all bodies have been recovered from the site of a plane crash in São Paulo, Brazil, which tragically claimed the lives of everyone on board. Rescue teams had been working to locate and identify the victims after a twin-engine turboprop, operated by Voepass, crashed in the town of Vinhedo.
Initially, the death toll was reported at 57 passengers and four crew members, but it was later revised to 62 after the airline confirmed an additional passenger was on board. The ATR 72-500 aircraft was on a flight from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos airport in São Paulo when it descended vertically, spiraling before crashing.
Despite the plane crashing in a residential area, no one on the ground was injured, although one home in a local condominium complex was damaged. Recovery operations concluded at 18:30 local time (22:30 BST) on Saturday, and the 34 male and 28 female victims were taken to a police morgue in São Paulo for identification.
The captain and first officer have already been identified, and family members are being accommodated in a hotel to assist with identifying the remaining victims. So far, 38 families have arrived.
Captain Maycon Cristo, a spokesperson for the fire department, explained that identification is being aided by documents, the position of bodies in relation to seating, and mobile phones recovered from some victims. This plane crash is Brazil’s deadliest since 2007, when a TAM Express plane crashed at São Paulo’s Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.
The cause of the crash remains unknown, but the flight recorders have been retrieved. ATR, the manufacturer of the aircraft, has committed to cooperating with the investigation. According to Flightradar24, the aircraft took off from Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT) on Friday, with a scheduled arrival at 13:40. The last signal from the plane was received about 20 minutes before its intended landing.
Brazil’s civil aviation agency confirmed that the plane, built in 2010, was in good operating condition with valid registration and airworthiness certificates. The four crew members were all licensed and qualified. Among the passengers were two trainee doctors from the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel.
Local residents witnessed the crash, with some describing the damage to their homes. One resident, Luiz Augusto de Oliveira, recalled how the plane exploded in his backyard while he and his family were at home. Thankfully, they were unharmed, and the damage was minimal. Another resident, Nathalie Cicari, described hearing a “very loud noise” and seeing the plane spinning out of control.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his condolences to the victims’ families during an event, where he called for a minute of silence in their memory. He later shared his sorrow on social media, extending his solidarity to those affected. In response to the tragedy, São Paulo Governor Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas declared three days of mourning.
