Eight cancer doctors among dozens killed in Brazil plane crash

According to an official, the plane accident in Vinhedo, Brazil, last Friday claimed the lives of dozens of people, including at least eight cancer experts who were traveling to an oncology meeting.

According to Voepass Airlines, the operator of the aircraft, the ATR 72 twin-engine aircraft, which was carrying 58 passengers and 4 crew members, nose-dived and crashed in Vinhedo while en route to Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo.

All 62 victims’ remains, including the body of an unidentified person who was later discovered to have been on the aircraft, were retrieved, emergency personnel announced on Saturday.

The Regional Medical Council representative stated he could confirm the eight doctors’ deaths.

“These physicians were attending a conference on oncology.” According to Eduardo Baptistella, “These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others,” as reported by the Daily Mail.

He also mentioned that seven of the fifteen doctors who were scheduled to fly to the conference had taken an earlier service.

Two of the hospital’s resident physicians, according to the Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel, confirmed their deaths to BBC Brazil.

At least eight doctors were on board the aircraft, according to a citation from Ratinho Junior, the governor of Parana state, and four professors from Unioeste University in western Parana were among the dead.

The majority of the victims—34 men and 28 women—have had their bodies taken to the police morgue in Sao Paulo so that they may be identified, according to rescuers and Brazilian emergency personnel.

Vinhedo Mayor Dario Pacheco stated early on Saturday that the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot had been identified.

According to regional carrier Voepass, the victims comprise four individuals holding dual citizenship: three Venezuelans and one Portuguese woman.

Firefighters at the crash site said officials are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents, and belongings such as mobile phones to identify the victims.

Family members of the victims are being taken to Sao Paulo to provide DNA samples to help in the identification of remains, said state civil defence coordinator Henguel Pereira.

Four people with dual citizenship were among the victims, three Venezuelans and one Portuguese woman, according to Veopass officials.

The Venezuelans were a 4-year-old boy, his mother and grandmother, local outlet Globo News reported. The boy’s dog was also on the flight, which the family was taking to later head to Colombia, according to the outlet.