Some of you might have seen the news today about a major airplane accident in São Paulo, Brazil. This hit me a little close to home on several levels. For one, the flight was one from Porto Alegre to São Paulo, a flight which I took when I went on my awesome vineyard vacation. There but by the grace of God go I, huh?
To help illustrate what a dangerous situation this is, the Congonhas airport is in the smack middle of São Paulo, one of the largest and most cram packed metropolis areas in the world. Taking off and landing in that airport is nerve racking because you are literally flying right next to skyscrapers and apartment high rise buildings. The fact that more people weren't injured is a miracle.
So I was saddened and disturbed to hear of the accident, but then by chance today I got to talk to one of my dearest friends in Brazil, Thiago. He is finishing his residency at a hospital in São Paulo, and apparently the survivors, 10 of them, were brought to his hospital where he was working in the ER today. When I talked to him he'd just gotten off work and was still shaken and shocked by the whole thing. He said they were suffering mostly burns and were all in very serious condition.
Every day tragedies are reported on the news, but some days they hit very close to home. Reminds you of how small our world is.
2 comments:
You're right; it is much more personal when you're familiar with the airline and the airport involved. I am praying for peace for all those affected.
Vitinho and I flew into Brasilia on Monday. Thankfully we chose to pay extra for the convenience of flying out of viracopos instead of congonhas. We flew back to Viracopos last night. Our flight was delayed 2 hours because of what happened in Congonhas. It could have been much worse. Flights to congonhas have been rerouted to either guarulhos or viracopos. Watching the news here has been horrible. I know you know how different news coverage here can be and I've had to stop watching. So far there have been 188 confirmed deaths.
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