This Sunday, Pope Francis asked people to pray for the souls of the 62 Brazilians who died on Friday afternoon in a tragic plane crash in the city of Vinhedo, in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
“Let us pray for the victims of the tragic plane crash in Brazil,” he urged on August 11 from St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, commenting on the worst air disaster in the country in 15 years, since an Air France flight with 228 people disappeared in the Atlantic.
On 9 August, a Brazilian airline Voepass plane crashed in the garden of a house located inside a gated community in Sao Paulo, killing all 62 people on board (58 passengers and 4 crew), according to a statement from the airline. The aircraft had taken off from Cascavel, Paraná, at 11:46 am (local time) bound for Guarulhos Airport.
“At this time of profound pain, our main effort is to continue supporting and providing unrestricted assistance to the families of the passengers and crew on board,” Voepass said in a statement posted on its social media on Saturday, August 10.
Initial investigations suggest that adverse weather conditions in the area may have caused the accident. However, the exact cause of the accident is still under investigation by Brazilian aeronautical authorities.
“The entire crew was competent. We are waiting for access to all communications between the pilot and the control tower to have a broader understanding of what happened,” Eduardo Busch, CEO of Voepass, said at a press conference.
The accident had a major impact on Brazil, and a period of national mourning began. The airline and authorities are expected to release more details in the coming days as investigations progress.