A bus burst into flames and two people were killed when a small plane crashed on a busy road in Sao Paulo.
Six people were injured by the debris after the eight-seater plane crashed on Marques de Sao Vicente Avenue in Brazil’s largest city.
Witnesses recalled seeing the plane exploding in a fireball as it hit the back of the bus, just yards from a queue of cars at a crossroads.
“I just saw everything flying and the fireball. It exploded immediately. Everyone was paralysed. The plane was ripping up palm trees and signs,” Genival Dantas Arraes said, according to Globo television.
Dramatic footage showed the blaze on the bus and a large plume of black smoke rising over Sao Paulo as emergency crews rushed to the scene.
Sao Paulo governor Tarcisio de Freitas said the two people killed were pilot Gustavo Medeiros and the plane’s owner, Marcio Carpena.
A passing motorcyclist was among the injured after he was hit by debris from the plane. A woman who was inside the bus was taken to hospital for her injuries, fire chiefs said. The condition of the two wounded people was unknown.
The four other injured people had only minor injuries, the fire department said.
The King Air F90 plane, which has a capacity for eight people, left Campo de Marte, a private airport, at around 7.15am, heading for the city of Porto Alegre.
The control tower lost contact with the plane minutes later.
One witness reported seeing it hit a tree before petrol began gushing out of it.
“It hit the tree, hit the sign and started dumping kerosene,” engineer João Lucas da Silva Amaral said. “When it hit the ground, it exploded and we ran.”
Personal trainer Adriano Rolim told Globo: “The pilot tried to land on Marques de São Vicente, and fortunately many cars swerved, but the plane hit the back of the bus and ended up exploding. The impact was huge, very scary.”
The Brazilian Air Force said it would investigate the accident as quickly as possible.
Brazil has had a number of deadly aircraft crashes in recent years, including one last August in Vinhedo, near Sao Paulo, that was particularly shocking. That passenger plane fell in a flat spin before crashing into the back yard of a home in a gated community, killing all those on board.
Guilherme Derrite, Sao Paulo’s secretary of public security, wrote on social media: “Our teams are working on the crash of a twin-engine plane on Marquês de São Vicente Avenue, in São Paulo.
“The fire department controlled the flames. Teams from the military police, civil police and scientific-technical police are also supporting the incident.”
