SÃO PAULO — Four people at the rear of a plane that crashed in a muddy Amazon river managed to open an emergency door and swim to safety as the aircraft sank, dragging 24 others to their deaths, officials said Sunday.
Most victims were members of a single family that had chartered the plane to travel to a birthday party. Seven children died.
“It was all very fast. The plane sank very fast,” 21-year-old survivor Brenda Moraes told reporters. “We only had a chance because we were sitting in the last rows and could open the emergency door.”
Divers recovered two dozen bodies Sunday from the twin turboprop plane that plunged into the Manacapuru river in a heavy rainstorm the day before, ending rescue operations after all passengers and crew were accounted for, said firefighter Major Jair Ruas Braga.
Aviation and fire officials said there were 28 people aboard the plane, a twin turboprop with a capacity of 21 people. Authorities said they are investigating the alleged overcrowding. A director for the company operating the plane denied the plane was overweight despite carrying more passengers than its capacity.
The survivors, including a 9-year-old boy, swam clear of the sinking plane Saturday and were helped by local residents until rescuers arrived.
One relative, Roberto Buchdid, said his wife called and told him to alert authorities.
“She was very scared,” Buchdid said.
The four survivors had only minor injuries and were in good condition Sunday, said Marcelo Alves Cabral, director of the hospital where they were treated.
“They told me that when they heard one of the engines stop, the plane lost altitude and hit something before going nose-first into the water,” Cabral said.
The 185-mile flight originated in the city of Coari. The plane went down about 50 miles short of its destination in Manaus, capital of Amazonas state.
About 20 of the people on board were family members, plus friends and two pilots, said Fernando Bezerra, a director of the company operating the plane.
The air force said the pilot appeared to have attempted a water landing, such as one made by a commercial jet last month in New York’s Hudson River that saved the lives of all 155 people on board.
