Passenger plane crashes in Brazil, 62 presumed dead

A passenger plane has crashed in the Brazilian city of Vinhedo with 62 people presumed dead.

The city lies in the Sao Paolo area of Brazil.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, meanwhile, asked for a minute of silence for the victims of a plane crash, adding that all on board were presumed dead, during an event in Santa Catarina on Friday, August 9.

The airliner with 62 people on board crashed with a video shared on social media showing what appeared to be the plane plunging down behind a cluster of trees, followed by a large plume of black smoke.

Airline Voepass said the plane, which had taken off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, bound for Sao Paulo’s main international airport, crashed in the town of Vinhedo, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.

The airline said it could not provide further information on what caused the plane, which had a PS-VPB registration, to crash.

The aircraft was listed by flight tracker FlightRadar24 as an ATR 72-500 turboprop.

ATR is jointly owned by Airbus AIR.PA and Italian aerospace group Leonardo LDOF.MI.

Sao Paulo’s state fire brigade rushed seven crews to the scene of the accident, according to a post on social media.