Brazilian authorities on Saturday finished recovering the bodies of the 62 people who died when their plane tumbled from the sky, as experts began examining the doomed aircraft’s black boxes to determine the cause of the disaster.
Videos showed the ATR 72-500 plane in a sickening downward spin Friday before it crashed into a residential area in the town of Vinhedo, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) northwest of Brazil’s financial capital Sao Paulo.
The plane operated by airline Voepass fell almost vertically, landed on its belly and exploded in flames, striking with such force that it was nearly “flattened,” said Sao Paulo fire lieutenant Olivia Perroni Cazo.
“A total of 62 bodies (34 male and 28 female) were recovered and taken to the morgue in Sao Paulo for identification and delivery to their families,” the regional government said Saturday evening.
Two have already been identified through fingerprints, with Vinhedo Mayor Dario Pacheco saying they were the pilot and co-pilot.
