Brazilian private plane crash kills pilot and family

A private plane has crashed in the southern Brazilian city of Gramado, killing ten members of a family.

Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, died in the crash along with his wife, three daughters and other family members, his company said in a statement.

The small plane reportedly hit a building chimney, a house and a store as it came down.

The local government said the accident injured 17 people on the ground, two of whom were seriously injured.

According to Brazilian media reports, Galeazzi, 61, was traveling with his family to Jundiai, São Paulo state.

Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite said at a news conference that all 10 victims of the accident were members of Galeazzi’s family. He added that the plane took off in adverse weather conditions.

The plane reportedly flew 3 kilometers (1.8 miles) minutes after takeoff on Sunday morning before crashing into the city.

“At that point, it was accelerating. You could see it was accelerating a lot,” witness Nadia Hansen told Reuters.

“Then when it hit the building there was a loud bang and then it came close to my house and then it fell off and I thought it fell in front of the house,” she said.

Photos from the scene showed emergency workers dealing with smoldering debris amid the rubble of badly damaged buildings.

Mr. Galeazzi is CEO of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm in São Paulo.

The company paid tribute to the 61-year-old in a statement on LinkedIn.

“Luiz Galeazzi will forever be remembered for his dedication to his family and his extraordinary career as leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” the statement said.

“We also express our sympathies to all those affected by the accident in the area,” the company said, adding that it would cooperate with the accident investigation.

The plane crashed near the center of Gramado, hitting a house, a furniture store and a hotel, Brazilian media reported.

The state’s premier, Mr Wright, said the Center for Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention (Cenipa) was investigating the cause of the accident.

“The entire state has mobilized to provide the necessary assistance,” he told reporters at the scene.

Gramado is a popular tourist destination known for hosting events during festivals.

In May this year, the region was severely hit by unprecedented floods, killing dozens of people and displacing about 150,000 people.