A Portuguese woman is among the fatal victims of the plane crash that occurred on Friday in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, which caused the death of all 61 people on board, according to a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that a victim of Portuguese nationality, “a 48-year-old woman,” was on the VOEPASS airline flight that crashed on Friday.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is already in contact with the family and deeply regrets the death of this Portuguese woman, as well as the other victims, conveying heartfelt condolences to all family members,” the ministry’s statement read.
According to Globo, which analyzed the passenger list released by the airline, Gracinda Marina Castelo da Silva was traveling with her husband, Nélvio José Hubner, to whom she had been married for 25 years. The couple leaves behind three children.
Gracinda Marina Castelo da Silva was a professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná, and her husband currently worked as a municipal prosecutor, having started his career at the Toledo City Hall in 2011.
In a statement published on social media on Friday, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva decreed three days of official mourning throughout Brazil, joining the Vinhedo City Council, where the tragedy occurred.
The VOEPASS airline plane, an ATR-72-500 twin-engine aircraft, was flying between Cascavel and São Paulo when it crashed around 1:25 PM (5:25 PM Lisbon time).
Videos published on social media show the plane spinning around itself before crashing with a loud bang, very close to some houses.
According to the specialized website Flightradar, the plane had made two more flights during the morning before crashing.
The São Paulo state government announced the creation of a crisis cabinet at Guarulhos Airport, where the plane was headed, to clarify the causes of the accident – as the discovery of the black box has already been confirmed – identify the victims’ bodies, and support the families.
VOEPASS said in a statement that it “is prioritizing providing unrestricted assistance to the families of the victims and effectively collaborating with the authorities to determine the causes of the accident.”
The Portuguese President and Prime Minister, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Luís Montenegro, sent messages of condolence to Lula da Silva.
