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All 61 people on board a plane have been killed in a crash near Brazil's Sao Paulo. The regional turboprop plane, which was en route to Sao Paulo, crashed in a residential area near Vinhedo on Friday.
Video shared on social media showed the ATR-made plane spinning out of control before its freefall on to the cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke.
Officials in Valinhos, near Vinhedo, confirmed that there were no survivors. Only one home in a nearby condominium complex was damaged, and no residents were injured.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at an event shortly after the crash, delivered the tragic news and requested a minute of silence for the victims. "I have to be the bearer of really bad news," said the president.
The plane, operated by Voepass, had taken off from Cascavel in the state of Parana and was en route to Sao Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport when it crashed in Vinhedo, about 50 miles northwest of Sao Paulo.
Voepass initially said the plane was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members, but a statement on the airline's website later revised the figure to 57.
Voepass, an unlisted airline, reportedly said that it could not provide further details on the cause of the crash. The aircraft, identified by FlightRadar24 as an ATR 72-500 turboprop, had the registration PS-VPB.
ATR is a joint venture between Airbus and the Italian aerospace group Leonardo.
Shortly after the crash, Sao Paulo's state fire brigade dispatched seven crews to the scene.
