Eight cancer doctors among dead in Brazil plane crash – as seven others changed flight at last minute

At least eight cancer doctors who were heading to an oncology conference were among dozens killed in a plane crash in Brazil’s Vinhedo on Friday, an official has said.

The ATR 72 twin-engine plane carrying 58 passengers and four crew members was headed for Sao Paulo’s Guarulhos international airport when it nose-dived and crashed in Vinhedo, said Voepass airlines, which operated the aircraft.

Emergency crews confirmed on Saturday they had recovered the remains of all 62 victims, including an unaccounted person later found to be on the plane.

An official from the Regional Medical Council said he was able to confirm the deaths of the eight doctors.

“These doctors were going to an oncology conference. These were people who dedicated their lives to saving others,” said Eduardo Baptistella, according to the Daily Mail.

He added that a total of 15 doctors were supposed to be travelling to the conference on the flight, but seven of them had taken an earlier service.

The Uopeccan Cancer Hospital in Cascavel confirmed to BBC Brasil that two of its trainee doctors were among the fatalities.

Parana state governor Ratinho Junior was also quoted as saying at least eight physicians were on board the flight, and that the death toll also included four professors at Unioeste university in western Parana.

Rescue workers and Brazilian emergency crews said the bodies of most of the victims – 34 males and 28 females – have been moved to Sao Paulo’s police morgue for identification.

The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were identified earlier on Saturday, said Dario Pacheco, the mayor of Vinhedo.

The victims include four people with dual citizenship, three Venezuelans and one Portuguese woman, said regional carrier Voepass.

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.

Investigators are analysing the plane’s “black box”, said Marcelo Moreno, head of Brazilian aviation accident investigation centre Cenipa, at a press conference in Vinhedo.