A Brazilian presidential candidate was among those killed when a small private jet crashed into a residential district of the coastal city of Santos Wednesday morning.

Eduardo Campos, 49, most recently governor of Pernambuco state and candidate of the Brazilian Socialist Party, was among seven people killed during the crash attributed to bad weather. The plane had attempted to land in Santos but aborted and was changing its course  when it crashed.

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According to the state news agency Agencia Brazil, the other victims killed in the crash were a Campos adviser and two others from his political team, a photographer,and the two pilots.

Campos, married and father of five, was scheduled to speak at a campaign event in Santos when the accident happened.

The Cessna 560XL jet had departed from the Santos Dumont airport in Rio de Janeiro. Authorities said the plane swerved as it was preparing to land because of the bad weather. Seconds later, air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane.

Witnesses on the ground saw the plane was flying very low before it hit a house with a loud explosion. There were no reports of injuries to people on the ground.

The country's air force is investigating the accident. Agencia Brazil said the plane's maintenance and inspection records were up to date.

Campos, considered to be one of the serious contenders in the presidential elections, has been steady in third place in the country's polls, according to pollster Datafolha. The two leading candidates are incumbent President Dilma Rousseff and center-right candidate Aecio Neves. 

President Roussef  has decided to suspend her campaign activities for three days, while Naves has tweeted that he would also would suspend campaign activities.

ampo's coalition has 10 days to nominate a new candidate, according to the Superior Electoral Tribunal which runs the country's elections. Marina Silva, a former senator who also previously served as the country's environmental minister, is currently the vice presidential candidate.

TagsEduardo Campos