Fiery plane crash at Sao Paulo airport kills at least 200

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Fiery plane crash at Sao Paulo airport kills at least 200 - CNN.com

SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNN) -- A jetliner crashed and exploded into flames at Brazil's busiest airport on Tuesday night, killing at least 200 people, local rescue workers said. As investigators prepared to open a probe into the cause of the crash of the TAM Airlines Airbus A320, questions were being raised about both the growth in Brazilian air traffic and Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport. The Sao Paulo fire department said at least 200 people, including some on the ground, were dead at the scene. The figure would make Tuesday's crash Brazil's deadliest air disaster. Brazil President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva declared three days of national mourning for the victims. Witnesses said the plane skidded across a major road at rush hour. Reports that the plane struck a gas station could not be confirmed, but a massive fire broke out. The crash happened in a driving rain, and the plane apparently struck a building bearing the airline's logo at the small domestic airport in the heart of the city. At least 50 rescue vehicles were at the scene, firefighters said. The fire continued to burn into the night. Sao Paulo's airport is notorious for having short, slippery runways, CNN's Miles O'Brien reported. The runway was recently resurfaced, but the cutting of grooves to channel rainwater off the pavement had not been completed. A small plane skidded off a runway at the airport just on Monday.