A source in the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to Euronews that a 48-year-old Portuguese citizen died in the crash of the plane that crashed in a residential area in the state of São Paulo.
A Portuguese citizen is among the 61 people who died in the crash of an aeroplane in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday.
The information was published by the Lusa news agency, quoting a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), which in turn confirmed the death of the Portuguese citizen to Euronews.
“The MFA regrets what happened and is in contact with the victim’s relatives to find out more information and provide all possible support,” the source said over the phone, referring more information to the X social network where he posted the following tweet:
Gracinda was a professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná, in Brazil, and was travelling with her husband who also died in the accident.
President of the Republic sends condolences to family of Portuguese citizen
In a note published on the Presidency’s website, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sent “heartfelt condolences” to the family of the Portuguese citizen.
“The President of the Republic spoke on the phone to the family of Gracinda Castelo da Silva, the Portuguese victim, along with her husband, of the same plane crash, a university professor based in Brazil, who remained very attached to Portugal, and to whom he sent his heartfelt condolences,” says the note.
Causes of the crash still to be revealed
The fire brigade, Military Police and Civil Defence sent teams to the scene. According to the rescue services, there are no victims on the ground, although the plane crashed in a residential neighbourhood.
The black boxes have already been recovered, but the causes of the crash have not yet been revealed. However, experts point to the cause being so-called “icing” – the formation of ice at high altitude, but that aircraft are prepared with de-icing systems called “de-icing”.
According to the Brazilian authorities, “there was no indication of an emergency” on the part of the aircraft, which had been inspected the day before the flight.