Plane with 61 aboard crashes in Brazil, no survivors

An airplane with 61 people on board crashed Friday in Brazil's São Paulo state, firefighters and the airline Voepass said.

Although no official death toll has been given, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said during an official event that it appeared there were no survivors.

"A plane just crashed in the city of Vinhedo in São Paulo, with 58 passengers and four crew members and it seems that everyone died," Lula said in the middle of a speech in Itajai in Santa Catarina state.

It was later confirmed that 61 people were on board at the time of the creash.

The aircraft was travelling from Cascavel in southern Paraná state to São Paulo's Guarulhos international airport.

In a statement Voepass reported "an accident involving flight 2283."

"There is still no confirmation of how the accident occurred or the current situation of the people on board," it said.

Images broadcast on local media showed a large plane nosediving at high speed, while others showed a large column of smoke rising from the crash site in what appeared to be a residential area.

The Fire Department of São Paulo wrote on social network X: "Aircraft crash, seven teams involved, so far only this information."

The city of Vinhedo, with about 76,000 residents, is located approximately 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of São Paulo.

– TIMES/AFP