Portuguese national among those killed in Brazil plane crash

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, 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 told Euronews.

Meanwhile, the ministry posted more information on the X social network, identifying the victim as 48-year-old Gracinda Marina Castelo da Silva.

Da Silva was a professor at the Federal Technological University of Paraná in Brazil and was travelling with her husband, who also died in the accident.

In a note published on the Portuguese presidency's website, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa sent "heartfelt condolences" to the victim's family.

"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.

Cause 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 were no victims on the ground, although the plane crashed in a residential neighbourhood.

The black boxes have already been recovered, but the cause of the crash has not yet been revealed. However, experts point to the cause being so-called "icing"** — the formation of ice at high altitudes that could have caused a stall that led to the crash, but that aircraft like the ATR that crashed are fitted with de-icing systems.

According to the Brazilian authorities, "there was no indication of an emergency" from the flight crew, and the aeroplane had been inspected the day before the flight.