Private plane crash in Brazil kills pilot and his family

Ten members of a family have died after a private plane crashed in the southern Brazilian city of Gramado.

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

The plane reportedly crashed into the chimney of a building, as well as a house and a store as it fell.

Local authorities say 17 people on the ground were injured in the crash, including two in serious condition.

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

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

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

“At that point, it was speeding up. You could see it was speeding up a lot,” a witness, Nadia Hansen, told the Reuters news agency.

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

Images from the scene show emergency workers tending to the smoldering remains among the rubble of severely damaged buildings.

Galeazzi was the CEO of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm based in São Paulo.

The company issued a statement on LinkedIn paying tribute to the 61-year-old.

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

“We also stand in solidarity with all those affected by the accident in the region,” he said, adding that he would cooperate with investigations into the accident.

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

The state governor, Mr. Leite, said the cause of the accident was being investigated by the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (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 in May this year by unprecedented flooding, which claimed dozens of lives and displaced some 150,000 people from their homes.