According to authorities, a twin-engine plane crashed shortly after takeoff in a residential area of Gramado.
A small plane has crashed into a tourist hotspot in southern Brazil, killing all 10 people on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, officials said.
The twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a house and the second floor of another house before crashing into a shop in a mostly residential area of Gramado shortly after taking off from Canela, Brazil’s Civil Protection Agency said on Sunday.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said at a news conference that the plane’s owner and pilot, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, was killed along with nine members of his family.
Leite said 17 people were injured on the ground, 12 of whom were still being treated in hospital.
Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that its CEO, as well as Galeazzi’s wife and three daughters, died in the crash.
“Luiz Galeazzi will forever be remembered for his commitment to his family and for his remarkable career leading Galeazzi & Associados,” the company said in a post on LinkedIn.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection they have received from friends, colleagues and the community. Our condolences also go out to everyone affected by the accident in the region.”
Gramado is located in the Serra Gaucha Mountains and is a popular travel destination for holidaymakers, especially during the Christmas season.
The crash came just over a year after Brazil’s worst aviation disaster in nearly two decades, when a twin-engine plane crashed in the southeastern city of Vinhedo, killing all 62 people on board.
