AKIPRESS.COM - Brazilian presidential candidate Eduardo Campos has died, with his campaign jet slamming into houses in Santos city in bad weather, killing all seven people on board and setting buildings alight.

Campos, 49, a socialist who had been running third in opinion polls for the October election, was flying to Sao Paulo to record a TV segment when his Cessna 560XL came down on Wednesday, breaking into pieces and igniting a large fire after impact.

President Dilma Rousseff, who is standing for a second four-year term, declared a state of national mourning and suspended her campaign for three days.

Campos, a popular former governor of the northeastern state of Pernambuco, was married with five children, the youngest just six months old.

His plane was en route from Rio de Janeiro's Santos Dumont airport to Guaruja airport outside Sao Paulo, according to air force spokesman Pedro Luis Farcic.