Fourteen people were killed on Saturday when a plane crashed in the Brazilian Amazon while trying to land in stormy weather in the tourist town of Barcelos, leaving no survivors, officials said.
The small plane’s pilot was approaching the remote town in heavy rain, with low visibility, and appeared to inadvertently start landing halfway down the runway, Amazonas State Security Secretary Vinicius Almeida told a news conference.
The plane ran out of landing strip and crashed, killing all 12 passengers and two crew, he said.
Photo: Reuters
Initial investigations indicated the passengers were all Brazilian men traveling to the region for sport fishing, the state government said in a statement.
“Our teams have been on the ground responding since the moment of the crash to provide the necessary support,” Amazonas Governor Wilson Lima wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “My solidarity and prayers to the victims’ family and friends.”
Media reports showed the small white plane belly-down on a dirt track, its front end crumpled into the dense vegetation to the side.
The plane was an EMB-110, a twin-engine turboprop manufactured by Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer.
It was on its way from the state capital, Manaus, to Barcelos, about a 90-minute flight.
Officials said two aircraft approaching Barcelos around the same time had returned to Manaus because of the weather.
News site G1 said locals living near the airport were the first to arrive at the scene, helping emergency workers remove the victims’ bodies from the plane.
TV footage showed people gathered around the crash site, many standing under umbrellas in the rain as emergency workers sorted through the mangled fuselage.
The Brazilian Air Force and police would investigate the crash, authorities said, adding that many details were still unclear.
Initial news reports had said US nationals were believed to be on the plane, but Amazonas officials said preliminary investigations indicated all the victims were Brazilian.
Officials said the victims’ bodies would be taken to the state capital Sunday to be identified.
Traveling sooner was impossible as takeoffs and landings at night are not permitted in the region, they said.
“An air force aircraft will leave Manaus tomorrow around 5:00am” with investigators and emergency officials, said Almeida.
“The expectation is that tomorrow we will be able to bring the bodies to Manaus and immediately take them for forensics and then release them to the families,” Almeida said.
Located on the Rio Negro, an Amazon tributary, Barcelos borders several national parks and other protected areas.
This is peak season for fishing in the region, a popular sport for catching tropical river species such as the peacock bass.
Covered mostly in dense rainforest, Amazonas is an adventure travel destination. It receives hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, state tourism company Amazonastur said.
A new online voting system aimed at boosting turnout among the Philippines’ millions of overseas workers ahead of Monday’s mid-term elections has been marked by confusion and fears of disenfranchisement. Thousands of overseas Filipino workers have already cast their ballots in the race dominated by a bitter feud between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his impeached vice president, Sara Duterte. While official turnout figures are not yet publicly available, data from the Philippine Commission on Elections (COMELEC) showed that at least 134,000 of the 1.22 million registered overseas voters have signed up for the new online system, which opened on April 13. However,
ALLIES: Calling Putin his ‘old friend,’ Xi said Beijing stood alongside Russia ‘in the face of the international counter-current of unilateralism and hegemonic bullying’ Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) yesterday was in Moscow for a state visit ahead of the Kremlin’s grand Victory Day celebrations, as Ukraine accused Russia’s army of launching air strikes just hours into a supposed truce. More than 20 foreign leaders were in Russia to attend a vast military parade today marking 80 years since the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, taking place three years into Russia’s offensive in Ukraine. Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022 and has marshaled the memory of Soviet victory against Nazi Germany to justify his campaign and rally society behind the offensive,
ENTERTAINMENT: Rio officials have a history of organizing massive concerts on Copacabana Beach, with Madonna’s show drawing about 1.6 million fans last year Lady Gaga on Saturday night gave a free concert in front of 2 million fans who poured onto Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for the biggest show of her career. “Tonight, we’re making history... Thank you for making history with me,” Lady Gaga told a screaming crowd. The Mother Monster, as she is known, started the show at about 10:10pm local time with her 2011 song Bloody Mary. Cries of joy rose from the tightly packed fans who sang and danced shoulder-to-shoulder on the vast stretch of sand. Concert organizers said 2.1 million people attended the show. Lady Gaga
CONFLICTING REPORTS: Beijing said it was ‘not familiar with the matter’ when asked if Chinese jets were used in the conflict, after Pakistan’s foreign minister said they were The Pakistan Army yesterday said it shot down 25 Indian drones, a day after the worst violence between the nuclear-armed rivals in two decades. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed to retaliate after India launched deadly missile strikes on Wednesday morning, escalating days of gunfire along their border. At least 45 deaths were reported from both sides following Wednesday’s violence, including children. Pakistan’s military said in a statement yesterday that it had “so far shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” at multiple location across the country. “Last night, India showed another act of aggression by sending drones to multiple locations,” Pakistan military spokesman Ahmed