All 61 people onboard plane that crashed in Brazil are dead, airline confirms

9 August 2024, 18:52 | Updated: 9 August 2024, 23:38

A plane has crashed in Brazil with 62 people onboard - with the country's president saying everyone is now presumed dead.

The airline VoePass confirmed in a statement that a plane heading to Sao Paulo's international airport Guarulhos crashed with 58 passengers and four crew members aboard.

The statement did not say what caused the accident.

The local firefighters corps confirmed that the plane fell in the city of Vinhedo, but did not offer more details.

The total number of people who have died has not been confirmed but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at an event in southern Brazil, said that it appeared that all passengers and crew aboard had died.

He asked the crowd to stand and observe a minute of silence as he shared the news, without elaborating as to how that information had been obtained.

Mr Lula paid tribute on social media, writing: “Very sad news. All my solidarity to the families and friends of the victims."

Brazil's TV GloboNews showed footage of a large area on fire and smoke coming out of an apparent plane fuselage.

Additional footage on GloboNews earlier showed a plane drifting downward vertically, spiralling as it fell.

Firefighters, military police and the civil defence authority dispatched teams to the crash site in Vinhedo.

Authorities sealed off the entrance to the residential area where the plane went down, as journalists waited outside for updates.

The plane departed from Cascavel, in the state of Parana.