SAO PAULO -- At least two people were killed when a construction company's plane crashed in a wooded area in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina, the local fire department said on Tuesday.

The small plane was flying from the city of Governador Valadares in the southeastern state of Minas Gerais to Florianopolis, the capital of Santa Catarina, and crashed Monday evening after reporting an emergency landing.

The wreckage of the plane was found in a hard-to-reach wooded area in the city of Itapoa in Santa Catarina.

The Air Force is investigating the reasons that led the pilot to make contact with the airport in the city of Joinville, in north of Santa Catarina, to attempt an emergency landing.