Brazil authorities recover bodies of all 62 plane crash victims

VINHEDO, Brazil: Brazilian emergency crews on Sunday recovered the remains of the 62 victims aboard an airliner that plunged to the ground in the town of Vinhedo, near Sao Paulo the day before, killing all on board.

The bodies of most of the victims - 34 males and 28 females - had already been moved to Sao Paulo’s police morgue for identification. The bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were identified earlier in the day, said Dario Pacheco, mayor of Vinhedo.

Four people with dual citizenship were among the victims, three Venezuelans and one Portuguese woman, said regional carrier Voepass, which operated the aircraft.

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.

On Friday Voepass said the plane was carrying 57 passengers and four crew, but on Saturday the firm confirmed another unaccounted-for passenger had been on the flight, putting the number of casualties at 62.

Authorities are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents and belongings such as cell phones to identify the victims, firefighter Maycon Cristo said at the crash site earlier on Saturday as the bodies were being pulled from the wreckage.