Plane with 62 on board crashes in Sao Paulo, Brazil

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

MEXICO CITY (AA) — A commercial plane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members crashed Friday in a residential area in Brazil's state of Sao Paulo, according to local reports.

The light ATR-72-500 aircraft went down in the Capela neighborhood of Vinhedo, a municipality of state capital Sao Paulo, at around 1.28 p.m. local time (1628GMT).

Casualty numbers and other details surrounding the crash of the plane, identified as Voepass flight 2283 with a capacity of 68, remain unclear.

Local media outlets reported that the aircraft departed from the city of Cascavel, in Parana state, and was bound for Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo further northeast.

Reports from the aircraft tracking platform Flightradar show the flight dropped approximately 4,000 meters (about 13,100 feet) in about a minute.

Hospitals in Vinhedo, and the neighboring city of Valinhos, are mobilized to treat possible injured, with fire departments, military police, and civil protection units arriving at the scene.

Brazilian airline Voepass Linhas Aereas issued a statement of support for authorities involved in attending the injured and said the cause of the incident was unknown.

"Voepass used all means to support those involved. There is still no confirmation of how the accident occurred or the current situation of the people on board," said the statement.