Representatives of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac) and the State Department of Civil Defense and Protection of São Paulo assured, today (10), that they are following the initiatives that Voepass (formerly Passaredo) has been adopting to support and assist the families of the 62 fatal victims of the crash of one of the airline’s planes, this Friday (9), in Vinhedo, in the state of São Paulo.
The ATR-72 turboprop – which was on flight 2283, between Cascavel (PR) and Guarulhos (SP) – crashed at around 1:20 pm last Friday in a residential condominium in Vinhedo. On board were 58 passengers and four crew members, including four passengers with dual citizenship, three Venezuelans and one Portuguese. There were no survivors. As of around 1:30 pm today (10), the bodies of at least 31 of the 62 victims had been located.
As the bodies are being transported to the São Paulo Institute of Forensic Medicine (IML) for examination and identification, Voepass and the São Paulo government have reserved rooms in two hotels to accommodate relatives of the accident victims who are arriving in the capital to follow the identification process and subsequent transfer of the bodies to other locations. By early afternoon, people from at least 13 families had already been assisted.
“Civil Defense, the State Secretariat for Social Development and Voepass have been welcoming family members who are arriving in São Paulo since yesterday,” said Lieutenant Colonel Cláudia Andrea Bemi, from Civil Defense.
According to her, relatives of the victims of the plane crash are being seen in the auditorium of the Oscar Freire Institute, close to the central unit of the IML, where they are receiving guidance on how they can help speed up the identification of the bodies, such as, for example, providing biological material to, when possible, be used in genetic tests.
“The relatives are being interviewed by IML technicians. Once identified, they return to the hotels, where they are receiving [dos órgãos públicos e da companhia aérea] the support of doctors, psychologists, lawyers and funeral assistance”, assured the director of the State Department of Civil Defense and Protection.
Biological material
For families living in Cascavel, in Paraná, where the flight departed from, or in Ribeirão Preto, in the interior of São Paulo and the final destination of some of the victims, and who do not wish to travel to the capital of São Paulo, it is possible to request the collection of biological material and the delivery of documents at the local IMLs.
CEO of the National Civil Aviation Agency (Anac), Tiago Sousa Pereira, stated that, to date, Voepass has been complying with everything established by Brazilian legislation.
“ANAC is monitoring the assistance to the victims’ families. There are civil servants [públicos da agência] “The emergency services are being deployed both at Guarulhos airport and at the hotels where the company is receiving the victims’ families. For now, the information I have is that the assistance is being provided satisfactorily, within a context of great sadness,” said Pereira, reinforcing that both the crashed plane and the crew met the legal requirements to fly.
In a statement, Voepass said it is directing its efforts to fully support the families of the victims. “At this time, our priority is to assist, monitor and provide structural and psychological support to the families of the accident victims. In order to provide comfort and facilitate the needs inherent to this moment, a team of psychologists, doctors and our team are in contact and receiving the families of the victims in a reception area set up exclusively for this service,” the company said, guaranteeing that it will meet the needs of transportation, accommodation, food and emotional support of the people.
