Brazil: Plane With 62 Onboard Crashes In São Paulo, President Lula Says All Feared Dead

A plane crash in Vinhedo, Brazil, involving a VoePass aircraft with 58 passengers and 4 crew has occurred. President Lula da Silva has expressed condolences while stating that all onboard are feared dead.

A tragic plane crash occurred on Friday in Vinhedo, a residential area in São Paulo state, Brazil. According to VoePass, the aircraft, en route to São Paulo's Guarulhos International Airport, went down with 58 passengers and four crew members on board. The airline has yet to disclose the cause of the accident, and there are currently no confirmed details regarding casualties or injuries.

Firefighters have confirmed that the plane crashed in Vinhedo, but further information has not been provided, news agency AP reported. The firefighting teams are on-site, working to manage the situation. GloboNews footage revealed a large fire and smoke emanating from what appeared to be the plane's fuselage, with other visuals showing the aircraft descending vertically and spiralling before impact.

In response to the disaster, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva requested a minute of silence from the crowd at an event in southern Brazil. He stated that it appeared that all passengers and crew aboard had died, without informing on how that conclusion had been obtained, according to AP. 

4 Dead In Helicopter Crash In Nepal

In a separate incident, a helicopter crash in Nepal on August 7 resulted in the deaths of four Chinese tourists and a Nepali pilot. The helicopter, operated by Air Dynasty, crashed in the mountainous Shivapuri National Park area in Nuwakot district, approximately 30 km northwest of Kathmandu. The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal reported that the helicopter, which had departed from Tribhuvan International Airport at 1:54 pm, lost contact with air traffic control just three minutes later and crashed around 2 pm local time.

The deceased included three Chinese men and one woman, and the helicopter was piloted by Captain Arun Malla. The bodies were transported to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu for postmortem. In response, the Nepali government has established a three-member committee, led by Nepal Army Senior Pilot Subash Thapa, to investigate the crash. The committee has been given a 30-day deadline to complete its report.

This incident follows a recent crash on July 24, when a Saurya Airlines plane went down at Tribhuvan International Airport, resulting in 18 fatalities. The latest crash raises significant concerns about aviation safety in Nepal, a country that has experienced several air accidents in recent years.