Two people have died, while a third has been pulled alive from the burning wreckage of a plane crash.
Horror footage shows a thick column of black smoke rising into the sky from the overturned fuselage as it burned.
The twin-engine aircraft took off at 11:13am yesterday (10 Jun) with three people on board and was returning to the same airfield when it crashed.
The 1985 Beechcraft 58 Baron came down in a field belonging to a sports club next to the airfield and burst into flames on impact.
Staff at the sports club in Marília, Brazil, rushed to the wreckage and pulled the sole survivor, Pablo Portella Ilwoski, to safety.
Ademir Durelo told local media: “I was having lunch when we heard an explosion. By the time I got to the scene, the plane was already on fire.
“I spotted a young man – the one we managed to pull out of the aircraft. We cut his seatbelt and got him out, then dragged him away from the wreckage.
“There were two other people trapped in the front of the plane.”
Another employee, Mauro Alves Ferreira, said: “One of them was still calling out for help, but he seemed to be trapped as the fire spread.
“We tried to find some way to help him, but there was nothing we could do.”
Pablo, 28, was taken to a local hospital, where he remains in a critical condition.
The two victims were identified as Gabriel Maloni Mendes da Cruz and 47-year-old Henrique Guariente Filho. Both were qualified pilots.
Gabriel, 24, was flying the aircraft at the time of the crash, as reported by Need To Know.
By the time firefighters recovered their bodies, they had been badly burned.
The aircraft had a valid airworthiness certificate, according to official records.
It belonged to Grupo Ponzan Alimentos, a food manufacturer specialising in seasonings, sauces, flour-based products and preserves.
Gabriel, from Jales, worked as a pilot for the company, which said it was “providing all necessary support to the families affected and remains fully available to assist the relevant authorities throughout the investigation”.
The cause of the crash remains unknown and is being investigated by Brazil’s Aeronautical Accidents Investigation and Prevention Centre.
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