- Title: BRAZIL: No sign of life where Brazilian jet crashed
- Date: 1st October 2006
- Summary: (BN14) RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (SEPTEMBER 30, 2006) (REUTERS) GOL STAND IN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT WHERE PLANE SHOULD HAVE LANDED PICTURE OF MANY GOL AIRPLANES ALIGNED
- Embargoed: 16th October 2006 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVAEUVSNR2RU26YF1N738PCJMXJ
- Story Text: Military searchers parachuted down on Saturday (September 30) to the wreckage of a Brazilian passenger plane that crashed a day earlier in remote Amazon jungle with 155 people on board.
The brand-new Boeing 737-800 operated by Brazilian low-cost carrier Gol probably plunged into the ground nose first after it clipped a smaller executive jet, the head of Brazil's airport authority Infraero said.
If the death toll is confirmed, it will be the worst aviation accident in Brazil's history.
The two soldiers who parachuted into the area were cutting down dense jungle to make a helicopter landing area and authorities had recruited Indian trackers to find a path to the remote jungle crash site for other relief teams.
Meanwhile in a news conference, the President of GOL, Constantino Oliveira Junior, stated that the air company's efforts will be devoted to help the victims and their relatives. "We should now focus all our energy in assisting the families. My own feeling, and I assume everybody's, is a solidarity feeling, the feeling of someone who wants the situation to clear up as soon as possible," he said.
However, the small size of the wreckage area indicated that the chances of survivors among the 149 passengers and six crew members on board were slim. Considering that the plane was flying at an altitude of 36,000 feet (11,000 meters), the speed at which the plane hit the ground is estimated to be very high, Infraero head Brigadier Jose Carlos Pereira told reporters. Pereira also explained that the rescue logistics will be very complicated due to the dense forest area where the plane has been located and that a heavy operation involving helicopters will occur.
"It's a complex logistic to remove people from inside a dense forest like that one (referring to place where plane crashed). A heavy operation with helicopters, the Air Force is building its main base in Cachimbo, closest place where there is a runway of large proportions," he said.
Authorities lost radar contact with Gol flight 1907 on Friday (September 29) afternoon during its journey from the principal Amazon city of Manaus to the capital Brasilia, the airline said. Manaus is a base for tourism in the Amazon, the world's largest rain forest, and a headquarters for several environmental groups.
Search planes found the crash site in Mato Grosso state, about 600 miles (1,000 km) northwest of Brasilia, officials said.
Friends and relatives, many wearing dark sunglasses and hugging and crying, gathered on the patio of a hotel in Brasilia waiting for details. Most could not utter more than one word before bursting into tears.
Brigadier Pereira also said that at this point there are no declarations from the survivors of the Legacy 600 jet which collided with the Gol Boeing and landed safely afterwards.
With its orange and white colours and stylized casual uniforms based on U.S. no-frills carriers, GOL it is an instantly recognizable brand in Brazil and one of its most successful new businesses.
The crash overshadowed a corruption scandal involving Lula's Workers' Party only a day before the former union leader faced a presidential election where he held a a clear lead in polls.
Lula declared three days of mourning for victims of the crash. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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