Families of the victims of a tragic plane crash in Brazil are coming together in Sao Paulo as forensic experts work diligently to identify the remains of the 62 individuals who lost their lives in the accident.
Local authorities have confirmed that the bodies of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and his co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be identified by forensic experts in the aftermath of the crash.
The Sao Paulo state government released a statement on Saturday evening announcing that all the victims’ remains had been located. The wreckage included 34 male and 28 female bodies.
The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop aircraft, operated by Brazilian airline Voepass, was en route to Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members when it went down in Vinhedo, 78 kilometers (49 miles) north of the city.
Tragically, among the deceased were at least eight physicians who were on board, as confirmed by Paraná state Gov. Ratinho Júnior. Additionally, four professors from Unioeste university in western Paraná lost their lives in the crash.
Three-year-old Liz Ibba dos Santos, the only child listed on the passenger manifest, was traveling with her father. The remains of Luna, a dog belonging to a Venezuelan family on board, were also discovered amidst the wreckage.
As efforts to identify the victims continue, Sao Paulo’s morgue has started receiving the recovered bodies and has requested relatives to provide medical, X-ray, and dental records to assist in the identification process. Blood tests are also being conducted to aid in the identification of the victims.
With the tragedy weighing heavily on the families, some have turned to social media to express their grief. Tânia Azevedo, who lost her son Tiago in the crash, shared a heartfelt post, expressing her pain and longing for light and love in the midst of darkness.
The world was shaken by the devastating crash, marking it as the deadliest airline disaster since January 2023. Reports from meteorological experts indicated severe icing in Sao Paulo state around the time of the tragedy, leading to speculation that icing could have played a role in the accident.
As investigations into the crash continue, Brazil’s air force has confirmed that both of the plane’s flight recorders have been sent to their analysis laboratory in Brasilia, with results expected to be released within 30 days.
Marcelo Moura, Voepass’s director of operations, stated that while there were forecasts for ice, they were deemed within acceptable levels for the aircraft. The Brazilian air force’s center for the investigation and prevention of air accidents mentioned that the pilots did not communicate any distress or mention adverse weather conditions.
The ATR 72 aircraft, manufactured by a partnership between Airbus in France and Leonardo SpA in Italy, is commonly used for shorter flights. Over the years, crashes involving various models of the ATR 72 have resulted in a total of 470 fatalities, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network.
