A plane has tragically crashed in the Brazilian state of São Paulo, resulting in the deaths of all 61 people on board. The twin-engine turboprop aircraft was en route from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos airport in São Paulo city when it crashed in the town of Vinhedo, according to Voepass airline.

Footage circulating on social media shows the plane descending vertically in a spiral before impact. The ATR 72-500 was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members, with local authorities confirming there were no survivors.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, while São Paulo’s Governor Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas declared three days of mourning in the state.

Flight recorders have been recovered, and ATR, the French-Italian manufacturer of the aircraft, has stated it will cooperate fully with the investigation. The crash occurred in a residential area, but fortunately, no one on the ground was injured. Only one home in a local condominium complex was damaged.

Video footage from the scene shows a large area engulfed in flames with smoking wreckage amidst the houses. Police and fire services are currently on site.

Tracking data from Flightradar24 indicates the plane departed Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT), with the last signal from the aircraft received about an hour and a half later.

Brazil’s civil aviation agency reported that the plane, built in 2010, was in good operating condition with valid registration and airworthiness certificates. All four crew members were properly licensed and qualified.

Among the passengers were two trainee doctors from the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel, the hospital confirmed to BBC Brasil.

The crash was witnessed by local residents, with one witness, Felipe Magalhaes, describing the terrifying moment: “When I heard the sound of the plane falling, I looked out my window and saw the moment it crashed.”