200 deaths possible in plane crash

A Brazilian airliner crashed into a petrol station while landing at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo on Tuesday. Although only 40 bodies have been recovered to date, a total of 200 people are presumed to have died in the crash, including some people on the ground.

There were 176 people on board the TAM airline flight. At 18:50, The Airbus A320 left the runway, traveled across a busy highway and crashed into a petrol station and the adjacent building. The crash caused a large scale blaze.

Multiple explosions caused the flames to spread, engulfing other buildings in the area. Dozens of ambulances responded to the scene and 400 fire fighters arrived to fight the blaze.

By Wednesday the Ministry of Safety reported that 40 bodies had been recovered and numerous people had survived and been taken to hospitals for treatment.

“There are probably around 200 people dead,” fire chief Manuel Antonio da Silva Araujo told Brazilian news website UOL

TAM confirmed that the flight from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil carried 155 passengers, 15 employees travelling with the passengers and six staff on the flight crew.

In addition, cars were hit as the airplane crossed the highway.

Heavy rain made the runway very wet. Only the day before, a plane slid off a runway at the same airport.

www.tam.com.br