Rio de Janeiro, 10 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) - A plane carrying 61 people on board crashed into a residential area in the city of Vinhedo in the Brazilian state of São Paulo on Friday, the city administration told dpa.

No one on board survived the crash, which occurred early Friday afternoon, the city administration said.

According to Brazilian airline VoePass, there were 57 passengers and four crew members on board.

The plane was en route from the city of Cascavel in the state of Paraná to Guarulhos in São Paulo. São Paulo–Guarulhos Airport is the largest airport in Brazil.

Some 19 months ago, dozens of people died in Nepal in a crash of an aircraft of the same type.

Brazil President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva asked those attending an event in the south of the country to observe a minute of silence. "A very sad piece of news. My deepest condolences go out to the families and friends of the victims," Lula said on social media platform X.

Later on Friday, Lula declared a three-day nationwide state of mourning.

Citing authorities in Vinhedo, the online news site G1 reported that the plane crashed in a residential area near a house where residents were present. However, no one on the ground was injured, G1 reported.

A local resident who recorded a video of the burning plane on a property told the TV channel UOL: "I have never heard such a loud bang in my life."

The fire brigade stated that rescue teams were on site. Hospitals in Vinhedo were on high alert. In addition to the fire brigade, the civil defence department and police were also deployed, G1 reported.

Images and videos on social networks showed a plane going into a spin and falling from the sky. Thick smoke subsequently rose up.

Data from the platform Flightradar 24 suggested that the plane descended almost 4,000 metres in less than a minute.

São Paulo Governor Tarcísio de Freitas posted on X: "My solidarity goes out to all the victims and those affected by this tragedy." He promised to provide all necessary support.

There was still no confirmation of how the accident happened, VoePass wrote on Instagram.

The cause of the crash is still unknown, VoePass said in an initial Instagram post about the accident.

Federal police have initiated an investigation into the accident.

In the house of a resident in the gated community where the tragedy occurred, the police set up a crisis team, G1 reported.

According to the news portal UOL, the accident ranks among the deadliest in the history of Brazilian aviation.

In November 2016, a plane belonging to Brazilian football team Chapecoense crashed on its way to Medellin for the Copa Sudamericana final first leg in Colombia. Seventy-one people were killed, including almost all the players as well as crew, coaches and journalists travelling with the team. Six passengers survived.

The plane that crashed on Friday was a turboprop passenger aircraft of the type ATR 72. The model is a high-wing aircraft from the French-Italian consortium Avions de Transport Régional.

In January 2023, 72 occupants, including four crew members, died in the crash of an ATR 72-500 which was just moments away from landing at a newly built airport when it fell into the gorge of the Seti River near the tourist city of Pokhara, about 200 kilometres north-west of Kathmandu.

Photo: EPA