A plane crashed in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, killing all 61 people on board.
The twin-engine turboprop was flying from Cascaval in the southern state of Paraná to Sao Paulo’s Cuarulhos airport when it crashed in the city of Vinhedo, according to airline Vopas.
Footage circulating on social media shows the plane descending vertically.
The ATR 72-500 was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members. Local authorities say there are no survivors.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims.
São Paulo’s state governor, Darcio Gómez de Freitas, declared three days of mourning.
The flight recorders were recovered, officials said. ATR, the Franco-Italian airline, said it was cooperating with the investigation.
The plane landed in a residential area, but no one on the ground was injured.
Officials say only one home in a local condominium complex was damaged.
The video shows a large area full of houses engulfed in flames and billowing smoke.
Police and fire departments are on the scene.
According to tracking website Flightradar24, the flight took off from Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT). The last signal from the plane was received an hour and a half later.
Brazil’s Civil Aviation Agency said the plane, built in 2010, was “in good operating condition, with correct registration and airworthiness certificates”.
All four crew members on board at the time of the accident were all duly licensed and properly qualified.
The Uopecan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel told BBC Brazil that two practicing doctors were among the dead passengers.
Local residents witnessed the moment the passenger plane crashed.
“When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window at home and saw the moment it crashed,” Filipe Magalhas told Reuters news agency, adding that the scene “terrified” him.
Another resident, Nathalie Cicari, told CNN Brazil that she was eating lunch when she heard “very close, very loud noises” that sounded like a drone but “much louder”.
“I went out on the balcony and saw the plane spinning. Within seconds I realized it was not the normal movement of an aircraft.”
It was Brazil’s worst plane crash since 2007 TAM Express plane crashes and catches fire At São Paulo’s Congonas Airport, 199 people were killed.
President Lula paid tribute to the victims during his speech.
“I have to be the bearer of very bad news and I want everyone to stand up for a minute of silence,” he told his audience.
He posted on social media that the news of the accident was “very sad”. “All my sympathies go out to the families and friends of the victims,” he said.
The nearby town of Valinhos sent 20 emergency personnel to the crash site as part of a joint operation, local officials said.
“Twenty people were mobilized, including three vehicles from the Valinhos Municipal Civil Guard and one from the Civil Defense,” Valinhos City Hall said in a statement.
ATR in a statement informed about the accident involving ATR 72-500.
“Our first thoughts are with all the people affected by this incident,” it said.
“ATR specialists are fully engaged in supporting both the investigation and the client.”
