Brazil presidential candidate Campos dies in jet crash

Campos, a socialist who has been running third in the polls, was on board a jet that crashed into a gym and houses in the city of Santos, breaking into pieces and sparking a large fire, Globo reported.

 All seven people aboard, the Brazilian air force told the online and television news network. The plane was en route from Rio de Janeiro’s Santos Dumont airport to Guaruja airport outside Sao Paulo when it hit bad weather, according to aviation authority spokesman Pedro Luis Farcic.

 “As it was preparing to land, the plane fell due to bad weather. Air traffic control then lost contact with the aircraft,” he said. TV images showed the destroyed plane amid piles of burning rubble, with a large column of smoke rising from several houses.

Flames could be seen in the windows of some houses. The air force said the plane was a private Cessna 560XL, a medium-sized jet. There was no immediate confirmation that Campos was on board the plane from officials or from his party, the PSB.

Officials said multiple people had been killed in the crash, but were unable to give a death toll because the fire was hampering access to the area.

“There are fatalities but we still do not have a number confirmed,” a Sao Paulo state police spokeswoman told AFP. Santos firefighters said there were at least 10 people injured, according to Globe’s online news portal G1.Campos, the 49-year-old former governor of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, had eight percent support from likely voters according to a survey last month by polling firm Ibope ahead of the October 5 first-round election.

 Rousseff, who is standing for a second four-year term, led the race with 38-percent support, while social democrat Aecio Neves had 22 percent, the poll found.