A big plane has crashed in Vinhedo, Brazil. Local TV station Globonews reported that a plane carrying 62 people crashed on Friday. The ATR-72 aircraft, operated by airline Vopas Linhas Aéreas, was en route from Cascavel in Paraná state to Guarulhos in Sao Paulo. Sao Paulo’s state fire brigade confirmed on social media that a plane had crashed in Vinhedão and that it had sent seven teams to the crash area.
The airline Vopass confirmed in a statement that a plane bound for Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport crashed, carrying 58 passengers and four crew members. The statement did not say what caused the accident.
Brazilian television network Globonews showed footage of a fire and smoke billowing from part of the plane in a residential area filled with houses. Additional footage on Globonews showed a plane descending rapidly. In the video, the plane is seen falling in an area with trees. After this a cloud of smoke rose.
At an event in southern Brazil, President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva expressed grief over the accident and asked people present there to stand up and observe a minute of silence.