Eight cancer doctors among those killed in Brazil plane crash – while seven others changed their flight path at the last minute

Eight cancer doctors on their way to an oncology conference were among dozens of people killed in a plane crash in Vinhedo, Brazil, on Friday, an official said.

The twin-engine ATR 72 was carrying 58 passengers and four crew members and was heading to Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo when it suddenly slid down and crashed in Vinhedo, the airline that operated the plane, Voipas, said.

Emergency crews confirmed on Saturday that they had found the remains of all 62 victims, including an unidentified person who was later found to have been on board the plane.

A regional medical council official said he was able to confirm the deaths of the eight doctors.

“These doctors were going to an oncology conference,” Eduardo Baptistella said, according to the newspaper. “These are people who have dedicated their lives to saving others.” Daily Mail.

He added that 15 doctors were supposed to travel to the conference on the plane, but seven of them took an earlier flight.

The Obican Cancer Hospital in Cascavel confirmed to BBC Brazil that two trainee doctors were among the dead.

Reuters also quoted Parana state governor Ratino Junior as saying that at least eight doctors were on board the plane, and that the death toll also included four professors at the University of Honeste in western Parana.

Rescue workers and Brazilian emergency crews said the bodies of most of the victims – 34 men and 28 women – were taken to a Sao Paulo police morgue for identification.

Vinhedo Mayor Dario Pacheco said the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot were identified earlier on Saturday.

The regional transport company Voipas said the victims included four people with dual nationality, three Venezuelans and a Portuguese woman.

Firefighters at the scene said officials are using seat assignments, physical characteristics, documents and belongings such as cell phones to identify victims.

Family members of the victims are being transported to Sao Paulo to provide DNA samples to help identify the remains, said state civil defense coordinator Hinguel Pereira.

The victims included four people with dual nationality, three Venezuelans and a Portuguese woman, according to Viopas officials.

The victims were a 4-year-old boy, his mother and his grandmother, local news agency Globo News reported. The boy’s dog was also on the plane the family was later scheduled to take to Colombia, the agency said.

Investigators are analyzing the plane’s “black box,” Marcelo Moreno, head of Brazil’s air accident investigation center Cinepa, said at a news conference in Vinedo.