São José do Xingu
São José do Xingu
São José do Xingu is a small municipality in Mato Grosso, Brazil, in the Central-West region. It had about 5,620 residents in 2020. The area uses the Brasília time zone (UTC−3).
Flight accident (1989)
On September 3, 1989, a Varig Boeing 737-241 flying as flight 254 from São Paulo to Belém, with stops along the way, crashed near São José do Xingu during the last leg from Marabá to Belém. The crash was caused by a navigational error that led to fuel exhaustion, and the plane belly-landed in the jungle about 40 kilometers from the town.
Of the 54 people on board, 13 died — all passengers. Seven died in the crash, and the other six died later from injuries and rescue delays. Because the plane crashed far from Belém, search teams initially looked in the wrong area. Four survivors found help after walking about three hours through the forest.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:00 (CET).