Video: Helicopter crash / Queda de helicóptero

The tragic accident was caught on CCTV cameras installed at the country estate where the helicopter with six people on board came down to earth this week.

The craft is shown plummeting from the top right of the screen, the force of its propellers bending back trees before it smashes into the concrete driveway in front of the farm property in Itupeva in the state of São Paulo in Brazil.

The body of the helicopter remains largely intact on its side, but a rotating propeller crashes into the ground sending debris flying.

Wounded people are then seen running from the helicopter and collapsing on the grass just yards away before it bursts into flames, sending a cloud of thick black smoke into the air.

The crash claimed the life of 61-year-old shipyard owner Gilberto Botelho de Almeida Ramalho who burned to death in the flames. The pilot and co-pilot were seriously injured but their conditions are not thought to be life threatening, according to reports. Mr Ramalho's wife and teenage son and a friend of the family were also on board, but sustained only minor injuries.

Authorities in Brazil have started an investigation into the cause of Monday's crash. Investigators say that the video evidence suggests that a mechanical fault caused the experienced pilot to lose control of the helicopter. The helicopter is believed to have taken off from an island owned by Mr Ramalho off the coast of the holiday resort of Paraty in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

O acidente com um helicóptero Agusta, um dos mais modernos e seguros, no interior de São Paulo, foi captado pelas câmeras de segurança do local onde pousava.

O helicóptero aparece mergulhando, a partir da parte superior direita da tela, com a força dos rotores empurrando as folhas das árvores, antes do choque contra o solo e o incêndio, em uma fazenda de Itupeva, São Paulo.

Alguns conseguem escapar, pouco antes do incêndio que tomou conta do Agusta. A tragédia matou o empresário Gilberto Botelho de Almeida Ramalho, 61 anos, e o piloto e o co-piloto sofreram ferimentos graves, mas não correm risco de vida. A mulher e o filho de Ramalho escaparam com ferimentos leves.

As primeiras suspeitas são de falha mecânica, conforme sugerem análises preliminares do vídeo, pois o helicóptero era pilotado por profissionais experientes. O aparelho teria decolado de Parati, RJ.