UAE offers condolences over plane crash victims in Brazil

The UAE expressed its sincere condolences and solidarity with the Federative Republic of Brazil over victims of a plane crash in a residential area, near the city of São Paulo.

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) expressed its sincere condolences and solidarity with the government and people of Brazil and to the families of the victims over their great loss.

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All 61 people on board were killed when the regional turboprop plane had fell into what aviation experts called a flat spin before crashing in the residential neighbourhood.

Regional carrier Voepass said the plane, bound for Sao Paulo's international airport, took off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, and crashed at around 1.30pm (430 pm GMT) in the town of Vinhedo, some 80km northwest of Sao Paulo.

Video shared on social media showed the ATR-72 aircraft spinning out of control as it plunged down behind a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke.

The plane's unusual final circling motion before hitting the ground triggered widespread curiosity among aviation experts, leading some to speculate that ice had built up on the plane or it had experienced engine failure, but investigators said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash.