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Plane crash in Brazil’s São Paulo state kills all 62 on board

A plane has crashed in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.

The twin-engine turboprop plane was flying from Cascavel in the southern state of Paraná to the main airport in São Paulo city when it came down in the town of Vinhedo, the Voepass airline said.

Footage circulating on social media showed a plane descending vertically, spiralling as it fell.

The plane was carrying 58 passengers and four crew. Local authorities said there were no survivors.

Authorities said the plane landed in a residential area, but no-one on the ground was injured.

They said only one home in the local condominium complex had been damaged, while none of the residents were hurt.

Brazil’s GloboNews television network showed pictures of a large area on fire and smoking wreckage in an area full of houses.

Police and fire services are at the scene and local hospitals have been alerted.

According to tracking website Flightradar24, the plane was built in 2010 and left Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT). The last signal received from the aircraft was about an hour and a half later.

Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, paid tribute to the victims at an event he was speaking at.

“I have to be the bearer of very bad news and I would like everyone to stand up so that we can have a minute of silence,” he told his audience.

He posted on social media the news of the crash was “Very sad. All my solidarity to the families and friends of the victims.”

The governor of São Paulo state, Tarcísio de Freitas, is heading to the scene, while the state government said it was sending emergency teams to the area.


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