Cancer doctors and family with dog among dead

As investigations continue into the plane crash in Brazil that killed 62 people, more details have emerged about the victims.

Those who died included cancer doctors, a three-year-old child, a lawyer specialising in lawsuits against airlines and a Venezuelan family and their dog, local media have reported.

All bodies have now been recovered from the site of Friday’s plane crash in the state of São Paulo.

The twin-engine turboprop was flying from Cascavel in the southern state of Paraná to Guarulhos airport in São Paulo city when it came down on Friday in the town of Vinhedo.

Footage circulating on social media showed a plane descending vertically, spiralling as it fell.

The aircraft crashed in a residential area, but no-one on the ground was injured. Officials said only one home in a local condominium complex was damaged.

Two doctors from the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel, Mariana Belim and Ariane Risso, were among the passengers who died.

They were among eight doctors on their way to attend a medical conference.

Three-year-old Liz Ibba dos Santos, the youngest victim of the disaster, was travelling with her father, Rafael Fernando dos Santos. Her mother, a journalist, was not on the flight.

Other victims included a family returning to their native Venezuela after their dreams of a new life in Brazil were frustrated.

Josgleidys Gonzalez was travelling with her mother, Maria Gladys Parra Holguin, and her young son, Joslan Perez.

According to a family friend writing on social media, the three had left economic hardship in Venezuela and moved to Cascavel, but had been unable to sort out Joslan’s documentation, as he was born in Venezuela but grew up in Brazil.

As a result, they were heading back to their homeland to deal with the documentation, and hoped to start a new life in neighbouring Colombia.

Their plan was to change planes in São Paulo and fly to northern Brazil before completing the journey by bus.

A friend of the family, Thaiza Evangelista, told AFP news agency that the family had friends in Colombia that would help them get set up.

Ms Evangelista received a message just as they were about to board the plane – the last she received from Josgleidys.

“I was desperate… the list (of victims) wasn’t coming out,” she told AFP.

The airline later confirmed Josgleidys, her mother and young son were among the dead.

Their dog, Luna, boarded the plane with them, because Joslan’s mother could not stand to see him separated from their pet, said the family friend. The family had the dog vaccinated as required by the airline.

The death toll also included a lawyer, Laiana Vasatta, who worked as a lay judge at the Court of Justice of Paraná and also represented clients in lawsuits against airlines. She posted videos on social media offering consumer guidance.

The state of São Paulo said it concluded its operation to remove the victims’ bodies from the crash site on Saturday evening.

It added that the bodies – 34 males and 28 females – were being moved to a police morgue in the city of São Paulo, where they will be identified and released to the families.

The authorities are still trying to determine what caused the plane’s dramatic plunge.

Analysis of the plane’s flight recorders has already begun and the Brazilian Air Force said a preliminary report would be issued in 30 days.

The plane crash is Brazil’s worst since 2007, when a TAM Express plane crashed and burst into flames at São Paulo’s Congonhas airport, killing 199 people.