" SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNN) -- Recovery workers picked through smoldering wreckage Wednesday, searching for victims of a fiery Brazilian plane crash that officials said left at least 200 people dead.
The TAM Airlines Airbus A320 was attempting to land in a driving rainstorm Tuesday night at Sao Paulo's Congonhas airport when it struck an airline building and exploded into flames.
The airline said Wednesday that 186 people were on board the plane. TAM released a passenger list and the names of seven employees it said were killed on the ground.
According to the initial investigation, the plane's pilot apparently overshot the runway and tried to take off again, an official said.
Some witnesses said they saw the plane skid across Avenida Washington Luis, a six-lane freeway adjacent to the runway, before it slammed into the building, which served as a depot for TAM's express courier service.
It is unclear how many people were in the building at the time of the crash. Also, the roof of a gas station adjacent to the TAM building was damaged by the fire, but the station and its gas pumps remained intact.
Victims' loved ones were seen in the airport weeping and clutching each other in their grief brought on by the disaster, which has renewed lingering questions about the airport's runways.
Witnesses said the plane skidded across a major road during the city's rush hour.
"We saw the plane go straight down the runway," said witness Paulo Barros according to the Brazilian newspaper O Globo. "It didn't manage to stop and went into the avenue. It went by so fast that we thought it was taking off."
Authorities have ruled out any chance that anyone on board the airliner survived. It will be difficult to recover the bodies because of the massive destruction caused by intense fire that officials said reached 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit (1000 C).
Investigators will look into whether Brazilian aviation authorities rushed to reopen the airport's recently resurfaced runway, which had been closed for several weeks for repairs.
Flight JJ3054 was arriving at Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport from Porto Alegre in southern Brazil, the airline said. TAM Airlines said there were 186 people on board -- including 18 TAM employees, 6 crewmembers and 162 passengers."
I happen to live 2 blocks away from the crash site, unfortunately, and I took some pictures of the tragic event. It was the biggest plane crash ever in Brazil..
This is the view from my house right after it happened
This one was 6 hours after the accident, a lot of silence, rain falling, and the smoke.. horrible scene.
Some I took this morning of the crash site, the first of them is the view from my house when I woke up =(
Airbus A320 plane crash in São Paulo, Brazil - With Photos
RIP
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