Private plane crash in Brazil kills pilot and his family

10 people from the same family lost their lives when a private plane crashed in the city of Gramado in southern Brazil.

In the statement made by his company, it was stated that Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, died in the accident along with his wife, three daughters and other family members.

It was reported that the small plane hit a house and a shop, as well as the chimney of a building, while falling.

Local authorities said 17 people on the ground were injured in the accident, two of them seriously.

Mr. Galeazzi, 61, was taking his family on a trip to Jundiaí, in São Paulo state, according to Brazilian media reports.

Eduardo Leite, the governor of Rio Grande do Sul state, said at a news conference that all 10 people killed in the crash were members of Mr. Galeazzi’s family. He added that the plane took off in adverse weather conditions.

The plane reportedly flew 3 km (1.8 miles) before crashing into the city’s urban area just minutes after takeoff on Sunday morning.

“He was accelerating at that time. You could see he was accelerating a lot,” eyewitness Nadia Hansen told Reuters news agency.

“Then there was an explosion when it hit the building, then it went near my house and then it fell, so I thought it landed in front of the house,” he said.

Footage taken from the scene shows emergency workers responding to the smoking debris among the rubble from heavily damaged buildings.

Mr. Galeazzi was managing director of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm based in São Paulo.

The company published a statement commemorating the 61-year-old on LinkedIn.

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

“At the same time, we share the pain of everyone affected by the accident in the region.” The organization said, adding that it would cooperate with investigations into the accident.

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

State Governor Mr Leite said the cause of the crash was being investigated by the Center for Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention (Cenipa).

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

Gramado is a popular tourist destination known for hosting events during the festive period.

The region was severely affected by unprecedented flooding in May this year, killing dozens and displacing nearly 150,000 people from their homes.