Brazilian presidential candidate, Eduardo Campos, died this morning after the private jet carrying him crashed attempting an emergency landing in the city of Santos on the coast of Brazil. Campos, who was one of the three front-runners for the upcoming election, had been campaigning in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, where he boarded the plane that would allegedly take him to his next campaign destination, Sao Paulo. Reportedly there were six passengers on board the Cessna 560XL aircraft and sadly there were no survivors. Reports of additional casualties caused by the plane crashing into a gymnasium in a very dense residential area are uncertain at the time.
Shocked at the news, President Rouseff declared a state of national mourning and has suspended all campaigning activities for the next three days. She released a statement saying, "All of Brazil is in mourning. We lost a great Brazilian today, Eduardo Campos. We lost a great comrade." The candidate had just turned 49 on August 10th and was already well known for being former governor of Pernambuco State, and Secretary of Science & Technology during Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s administration before that.
The Air Force said the accident happened due to bad weather, but has started an investigation to determine all other factors that might have contributed to the crash. In the meantime, Brazilian politicians have been releasing statements expressing their deep sadness and condolences to Campos’ loved ones. The Guardian reports that the president of the Joint Parliamentary Committee of Inquiry, Vital do Rego said, "He was one of the most talented public men of his generation. The whole country will be in mourning." No doubt it is a sad day for the country.
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