The twin-engine turboprop, operated by Voepass airline, was en route from Cascavel in Paraná to Guarulhos airport in São Paulo city when it went down in the town of Vinhedo. Footage circulating on social media shows the aircraft descending in a vertical spiral before crashing.

The ATR 72-500 was carrying 57 passengers and four crew members, with local authorities confirming that there were no survivors. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, while São Paulo's state Governor, Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas, declared three days of mourning.

Authorities have retrieved the flight recorders, and ATR, the French-Italian manufacturer of the plane, has pledged to cooperate with the investigation. The aircraft crashed in a residential area, but miraculously, no one on the ground was injured. Only one home in a nearby condominium complex sustained damage.

Video footage shows a large area engulfed in flames and smoking wreckage amidst the houses. Police and fire services are on the scene. According to Flightradar24, the plane departed Cascavel at 11:56 local time (14:56 GMT), with the last signal received about an hour and a half later.

Brazil's civil aviation agency confirmed that the plane, built in 2010, was in good operating condition with valid registration and airworthiness certificates. The crew members were all duly licensed and qualified. The Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel confirmed that two of its trainee doctors were among the passengers.

The crash was witnessed by local residents, and video footage shared on social media shows the plane spiraling downward before the impact, followed by a large plume of black smoke. President Lula, addressing the nation, acknowledged the tragedy and requested a moment of silence for the victims.

The airline, which is privately owned, has not yet provided details on the cause of the crash. São Paulo's fire department responded swiftly, deploying seven teams to the site, which was reported to be engulfed in flames, with smoke rising from the wreckage of the plane.