On Friday, a tragic plane crash in Vinhedo, Brazil, claimed the lives of at least eight cancer doctors who were en route to an oncology conference.
The ATR 72 twin-engine plane, operated by Voepass airlines, was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members when it crashed while heading to Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport.
Emergency crews confirmed on Saturday that they had recovered the remains of all 62 victims, including an additional person initially unaccounted for.
Eduardo Baptistella from the Regional Medical Council confirmed the deaths of the eight doctors, noting: “These doctors were going to an oncology conference. These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others,” said Eduardo Baptistella, according to the Daily Mail.
It was initially reported that 15 doctors were scheduled to be on the flight, but seven had taken an earlier service. The Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel confirmed that two of its trainee doctors were among those killed. Parana state governor Ratinho Junior also verified that the flight included at least eight physicians and four professors from Unioeste University in western Parana.
The crash resulted in the deaths of 34 males and 28 females, with most bodies moved to Sao Paulo’s police morgue for identification. Dario Pacheco, the mayor of Vinhedo, stated that the pilot and co-pilot’s bodies had been identified earlier on Saturday.
Among the victims were four individuals with dual citizenship—three Venezuelans and one Portuguese woman, as reported by Voepass. Globo News identified the Venezuelan victims as a 4-year-old boy, his mother, and his grandmother, with the boy’s dog also on the flight. The family was traveling to eventually head to Colombia.
Firefighters and officials are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents, and belongings, such as mobile phones, to assist in the identification process. Family members are being transported to Sao Paulo to provide DNA samples to aid in identifying the remains.
Investigators are examining the plane’s “black box” to determine the cause of the crash, according to Marcelo Moreno, head of the Brazilian aviation accident investigation center Cenipa.
