Seven people died this Sunday as consequence of the crash of a small plane in Itapevaa municipality in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais (southeast), reports the fire brigade.

The fire brigade has found the bodies of seven victims on board the plane or in the area, but the search in the region continues, the Minas Gerais Fire Department reported in a statement and given the versions found about the number of victims.

Initially the rescue organization had announced the discovery of three bodies in the wreckage of the planebut the VOA network, which operates Campinas Airport, from where the crashed plane took off, reported that “preliminary information shows that there were seven people on board, including five passengers and two crew members.”

According to the company, the plane is that did not have a permit to carry out activities in the transport of private passengershad taken off from Campo dos Amarais airport in Campinas, inland Sao Paulo state, at 10:07 a.m. local time and was bound for Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais.

The single-engine accident occurred around 10:36 a.m. local time in a rural region of Itapevaa municipality in the far south of the state of Minas Gerais and about 460 kilometers from Belo Horizonte.

According to witnesses, the plane broke into several pieces as it flew over the Monjolinho district amid adverse weather conditions, causing the parts to fall in different areas.

The aircraft, with the prefix PS-MTG and owned by the company It’s Soluções Ltda, is a Piper Aircraft model PA-46350P, manufactured in 1996 and with capacity for five passengers.

The aircraft is registered with a financial company based in Belo Horizonte.

The Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aviation Accidents (Cenipa) reported that it has sent a team to the accident region and that the completion of its work will be announced in the shortest possible time. (JO)