Two people lost their lives on Friday when a small plane crashed on a major avenue in São Paulo, Brazil’s financial hub, before colliding with a bus, local authorities confirmed.
The cause of the accident remains unclear, but officials are investigating whether the aircraft was attempting an emergency landing shortly after takeoff.
The plane slid for several hundred meters along the busy avenue before crashing into the bus and bursting into flames, according to firefighter chief Ronaldo Melo.
The victims, identified as the pilot and the sole passenger of the King Air F90, died on the spot.
The crash occurred just moments after the aircraft departed from Campo de Marte Airport, which serves domestic flights.
Although passengers on the bus escaped, six were injured in the incident.
“It slid hundreds of metres along the avenue before colliding with a bus and exploding,” Melo explained to reporters.
Dramatic images aired on local television captured thick black smoke rising above the scene before firefighters swiftly extinguished the blaze.
Melo added that investigators are on-site “taking photos and interviewing people who witnessed the aircraft crash” to determine the cause of the accident.
