Families of plane crash victims gather as experts work to identify the dead

SÃO PAULO (AP):

Families of victims of an airliner crash in Brazil are gathering Sunday at a morgue and hotels in São Paulo as forensics experts work to identify the remains of the 62 people killed in the accident.

Local authorities said the bodies of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and his co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be identified. Brazilian media said another four people were identified at the São Paulo morgue, which did not confirm the information.

Sao Paulo state government said in a statement on Sunday morning that the searches ended at 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, 33 hours after the crash, with the remains of all 34 males and 28 females among the victims recovered. It added that the wreckage remains at the site so investigators can continue their work.

The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop operated by Brazilian airline Voepass was headed for Guarulhos international airport in São Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members aboard when it went down on Friday in Vinhedo, 78 kilometres (49 miles) north of the metropolis. Voepass said three passengers who held Brazilian identification also carried Venezuelan documents and one had Portuguese.

At least eight physicians were aboard, Paraná state Governor Ratinho Júnior said. Four professors at Unioeste university in western Paraná were also confirmed dead.

Three-year-old Liz Ibba dos Santos, who was travelling with her father, was the only child known to be on the passenger list. The remains of Luna, a dog that was travelling with a Venezuelan family, was also found in the wreckage.

São Paulo’s morgue began receiving the bodies on Friday evening, and it asked victims’ relatives to bring in medical, X-ray and dental records to help identify the bodies. Blood tests were also done to help identification efforts.

The few family members speaking about the tragedy did so on social media.

Tânia Azevedo, who lost her son Tiago in the crash, was put up in one of the hotels in São Paulo, but said in a posting that she was waiting to go to the morgue.

“I believe Tiago is somewhere trying to help the other people wounded who also need light and love,” she said. “I couldn’t go there (to the morgue). I am here waiting. It is dark here, I need some light and love myself.”

Images recorded by witnesses showed the aircraft in a flat spin and plunging vertically before smashing to the ground inside a gated community, leaving an obliterated fuselage consumed by fire. Residents said there were no injuries on the ground.

It was the world’s deadliest airline crash since January 2023, when 72 people died on a Yeti Airlines plane in Nepal that stalled and crashed while making its landing approach. That plane also was an ATR 72, and the final report blamed pilot error.

Metsul, one of Brazil’s most respected meteorological companies, said on Friday there were reports of severe icing in São Paulo state around the time of the crash. Local media cited experts pointing to icing as a potential cause for the accident.

A video shared on social media channels on Saturday shows a Voepass pilot telling passengers on a flight from Guarulhos to the city of Cascavel that the ATR 72 has flown safely around the world for decades. He also asked passengers to be respectful to the memory of his colleagues and the company, and asked for prayers.

“This tragedy doesn’t hit only those who perished in this accident. It hits all of us,” the unidentified pilot said. “We are giving all our hearts, all our best to be here and fulfil our mission to take you safely and comfortably to your destination.”

Police restricted access to the main entrance of the São Paulo morgue where bodies from the crash were being identified. Some family members of the victims arrived on foot, others came in minivans. None spoke to journalists, and the authorities requested that they not be filmed as they came.

A flight carrying more family members from Paraná state landed on Saturday afternoon at Guarulhos airport. A minivan sponsored by the airline was provided to transport them to the morgue.

São Paulo state government said 26 families have already attended the morgue for identification efforts, with more expected on Sunday.