BREAKING: Supreme Court judge dies after plane crashes into sea

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The plane carrying the Supreme Court judge crashed in Brazil

Rescuers found three bodies in the wreckage of the small, twin-prop plane that crashed off the coast of Rio de Janeiro state during heavy rain.

Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki was travelling in the small plane from Sao Paulo when it crashed near the tourist town of Paraty.

His son confirmed Mr Zavascki was among the dead.

It is unclear if there are any survivors.

Dear friends, we have just received confirmation that dad passed away. Thank you for the strength

Francisco Prehn Zavascki

Francisco Prehn Zavascki, confirmed on his Facebook page that the judge was on the plane, and initially called for prayers for a miracle that he may have survived.

He later said: "Dear friends, we have just received confirmation that dad passed away. Thank you for the strength."

The dual propeller Hawker Beechcraft C90GT carrying Zavascki left a Sao Paulo airport at around 1pm local time and crashed into the sea about 80 minutes later.

EPA

The light aircraft crashed near the tourist town of Paraty

The plane belonged to luxury hotel group Emiliano, according to civil aviation authority ANAC. There was no information provided on the identity of the two other bodies retrieved.

Brazil's civil aviation authority ANAC said the Hawker Beechcraft twin-prop plane, model C90GT, had a capacity for a maximum of seven passengers.

The justice was overseeing an investigation into dozens of politicians.

GETTY

Justice Teori Zavascki was killed in the crash

EPA

Justice Zavascki was overseeing an investigation into dozens of politicians

Mr Zavascki had been reviewing highly anticipated testimony from dozens of executives at engineering group Odebrecht, which is expected to implicate hundreds of politicians in the biggest corruption case in Brazil's history.

The sprawling investigation, involving at least £1.6billion in bribes for contracts with state-run enterprises, has led to the jailing of dozens of senior executives and threatens to batter the ruling coalition of President Michel Temer.

Under Supreme Court rules, Mr Zavascki's case load would normally fall to the justice named by President Temer to replace him, but an exception can be made for urgent matters, according to a court representative.

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