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A plane with 61 people aboard has crashed in a fiery wreck in a residential area of a city in Brazil’s Sao Paulo state, killing everyone on board.
VoePass flight 2283 took off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, just before noon on its way to the Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport. The ATR-72 lost signal around 1:22 pm local time and crashed in Vinhedo, 50 miles northwest of Sao Paulo city.
Brazilian television network GloboNews showed footage of a large area on fire and smoke coming out of what appeared to be a plane’s fuselage in an area full of houses. Officials confirmed the plane hit several homes as it crashed, CNN reports.
Sao Paulo’s state fire brigade confirmed that a plane crashed in the city Vinhedo, about 50 miles northwest of Sao Paulo city, and said it had sent seven crews to the area.
VoePass originally reported 62 people were on board but has since updated the number, the Associated Press reports.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva addressed the crash shortly after the plane hit the ground: “I would like everyone to stand up so that we can observe a minute of silence.”
Military police and the civil defence authority also sent emergency teams to the crash site.
Video taken by a bystander showed at least two bodies strewn about flaming pieces of wreckage.
Footage also showed what appeared to be the plane plunging down in a nosedive and disappearing behind a cluster of trees, before a large plume of black smoke erupted into the air.
A large area was on fire and smoke was coming out of what appeared to be the wreckage of a plane’s fuselage.
It is not immediately clear what caused the accident.
Authorities sealed off the entrance to the residential area where the plane went down, as official vehicles including ambulances drove in.
At an event in southern Brazil, president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva asked the crowd to stand and observe a minute of silence.
The aircraft was listed by flight tracker FlightRadar24 as an ATR 72-500 turboprop. ATR is jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo.
