Families of Brazilian plane crash victims gather in São Paulo as experts work to identify the dead

Families of victims of an airliner crash in Brazil are gathering Sunday at a morgue and hotels in Sao Paulo as forensics experts work to identify the remains of the 62 people killed in the accident.

SAO PAULO — Families of victims of an airliner crash in Brazil are gathering Sunday at a morgue and hotels in Sao Paulo as forensics experts work to identify the remains of the 62 people killed in the accident.

Local authorities said the bodies of the pilot, Danilo Santos Romano, and his co-pilot, Humberto de Campos Alencar e Silva, were the first to be identified. Brazilian media said another four people were identified at the Sao Paulo morgue, which did not confirm the information.

Sao Paulo state government said in a statement Sunday morning that the searches ended at 10:45 p.m. on Saturday, 33 hours after the crash, with the remains of all 34 males and 28 females among the victims recovered. It added that the wreckage remains at the site so investigators can continue their work.

The ATR 72 twin-engine turboprop operated by Brazilian airline Voepass was headed for Guarulhos international airport in Sao Paulo with 58 passengers and four crew members aboard when it went down Friday in Vinhedo, 49 miles north of the metropolis. Voepass said three passengers who held Brazilian identification also carried Venezuelan documents and one had Portuguese.

At least eight physicians were aboard, Paraná state Gov. Ratinho Júnior said. Four professors at Unioeste university in western Paraná were also confirmed dead.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/brazil-sao-paulo-plane-crash-families-victims-rcna166136

---