A Brazilian Air Force plane on Tuesday crashed in the country's southern state of Santa Catarina, killing at least five people on board, Xinhua reported.
The plane, a C-98A Grand Caravan model, crashed onto a ravine and exploded. Five corpses have already been found, but there is no information on the whereabouts of the other three occupants of the aircraft, which had left Canoas, in the neighboring state of Rio Grande do Sul, and was headed to Rio de Janeiro.
According to one of the witnesses, the crash occurred while the wind was very strong in the region. An Air Force helicopter was sent to the region to help search the missing people, but had to return due to the wind.
It is the fifth accident involving Brazilian Air Force planes in 2011. The previous four crashes killed five people.