Removal of bodies begins from Brazil plane crash that killed 62

By Sebastian Rocandio

VINHEDO, Brazil (Reuters) – Brazilian civil defense teams worked through the night removing the remains of passengers on a plane that crashed on Friday near Sao Paulo, killing all 62 people on board.

At least 21 bodies had been recovered by Saturday morning, Sao Paulo state government said, with two victims identified on site. All the bodies are being moved to Sao Paulo’s police morgue.

On Friday regional carrier Voepass said the plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew, but on Saturday the firm confirmed another unaccounted for passenger was on the flight, putting the number of casualties at 62.

The position of the bodies on the crashed plane, physical characteristics, documents and belongings such cell phones were being used to aid in identification, firefighter Maycon Cristo said at the crash site.

“Once all this evidence has been collected, we will remove the victims from the wreckage and place them in the vehicle to be transported to São Paulo,” he said.

Relatives of the victims have been brought to Sao Paulo to help provide genetic material for DNA identification of body parts and other information on the dead, said Sao Paulo state government Civil Defense Coordinator Henguel Pereira.

The plane, an ATR-72 turboprop, was bound for Sao Paulo from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1:30 p.m. (1630 GMT) in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.

Franco-Italian ATR, jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo, is the dominant producer of regional turboprop planes seating 40 to 70 people. ATR told Reuters on Friday that its specialists were “fully engaged” with the investigation into the crash.