No Pinoys killed in Brazil plane crash

The Department of Foreign Affairs assured yesterday that there are no Filipinos among the casualties of a TAM Airlines Airbus-320 jet that crashed last Tuesday in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The DFA said the Philippine Honorary Consulate General in Sao Paulo reported to the Home Office that there were no Filipinos on board the ill-fated plane that overshot the runway of the Cogonhas-Sao
Paulo International Airport and crashed into a nearby building. 

Philippine Ambassador to Brazil Teresita Barsana said all 176 people on board the Airbus A320 aircraft, flight JJ3054, and around 25 on the ground died in what could be Brazil’s worst air disaster.

The TAM Airlines jet was en route to Brazil’s busiest airport from Porto Alegre when it skidded on the rain-slicked runway.

The airline raised on Wednesday the number of people aboard the plane by four to 180 and officials said the chance of finding survivors was near zero.