There are no survivors after a plane carrying 61 people plummeted into a gated community in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil, the airline Voepass has confirmed.
Officials have said only one home was damaged after the plane crashed in the municipality of Vinhedono and no residents were hurt.
Voepass had earlier said there 62 people on the plane that was on its way from Cascavel in the state of Parana to Guarulhos in Sao Paulo state.
Footage broadcast by Brazilian TV station GloboNews shows a large area on fire and smoke appearing to billow from a fuselage.
Video shared on social media shows the plane spinning out of control before crashing behind a cluster of trees close to houses.
Brazil plane crash: Follow live updates
Authorities sealed off the gated community where the crash took place as firefighters and the military police dispatched teams to the site.
Voepass has not given any indication as to what may have caused the crash.
Meanwhile, a Sao Paolo state official has confirmed that the plane’s flight recorder has been found.
The flight tracker website FlightRadar24 has said there was an active warning for “severe icing” at an altitude of between 12,000 feet and 21,000 feet, and that the aircraft had been flying at 17,000 feet immediately prior to the crash.
Icing involves water droplets freezing and collecting on surfaces such as wings and propeller blades. It can hamper an aircraft’s performance by reducing thrust, decreasing lift and increasing drag.
Aircraft manufacturer ATR said it had been informed of an accident in Vinhedo involving one of its aircraft.
Our first thoughts are with all the individuals affected by this event,” it said, adding that company specialists were
“fully engaged” with the investigation into the crash and its customers.
Smoke billowed from the scene after the crash
Police guard the gated community in Vinhedo where the plane crashed. Pic: AP
The aircraft was listed by flight tracker website FlightRadar24 as a 14-year-old ATR 72-500 turboprop.
The website noted that in its final minute, the plane’s transponder recorded a vertical speed of between 8,000 and 24,000 feet per minute.
The upper end of that range would translate to a speed of 273 miles per hour.
Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been speaking at an event in the south of the country where he said it appeared that all passengers and crew had died.
He later asked the crowd to stand and observe a minute of silence.
Discussion about this post