Plane Crashes In Brazil¡¯s Amazon Rainforest, Killing All 14 People On Board

A small passenger plane crashed in Brazil¡¯s Amazon rainforest Saturday, killing all 14 people on board, Amazonas state Gov. Wilson Lima announced.

¡°I deeply regret the death of the 12 passengers and two crew members who were victims of the plane crash in Barcelos on Saturday,¡± Lima said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Embraer PT-SOG aircraft had taken off from Manaus, the Amazonas state capital and the biggest city in the Amazon, and was attempting to land in heavy rain when it crashed, local media reported.

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Due to low visibility in heavy rain, the plane's pilot appeared to inadvertently start his landing mid-runway. The plane ran out of landing strip and crashed, killing all 12 passengers and two crew, he said.

What initial probe reveals

Initial investigations indicated the passengers were all tourist Brazilian men travelling in the 90-minute flight to the region for sport fishing, the state government said in a statement.

Located on the Rio Negro, an Amazon tributary, Barcelos is bordered by several national parks and other protected areas. This is peak season for fishing in the region, a popular spot for catching tropical river species such as the "tucunare," or peacock bass.

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Captured on cam

Video footage posted by the Globo television network showed the plane lying on a muddy dirt track with the front part of the aircraft in green foliage. A couple of dozen people are seen standing nearby holding umbrellas.

Officials said two aircraft approaching Barcelos around the same time had to turn back to Manaus because of the weather. The Brazilian air force and police will investigate the crash, authorities said.

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The Brazilian air force sent a team from Manaus to collect information and preserve any evidence that could be used for the investigation into the crash, an air force statement said.

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