A twin-engine small plane crashed in the popular tourist city of Gramado, Brazil, killing all 10 people on board.
According to media, the Brazilian authorities, while confirming the death of 10 people, said that more than a dozen people on the ground were injured because of the crash.
Brazil’s Civil Defence agency on Sunday, December 22, 2024, informed that a twin-engine Piper PA-42-1000 hit the chimney of a house, then the second floor of a different home, after finally crashing into a shop in the residential area.
Rio Grande do Sul Governor Eduardo Leite told a news conference that the owner and pilot of the aircraft, Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, died in the crash along with nine other members of his family while 17 people on the ground were injured. Among the wounded, 12 are in the hospital.
“In this moment of immense pain, Galeazzi & Associados is deeply grateful for the expressions of solidarity and affection received from friends, colleagues, and the community. We also sympathise with all those affected by the accident in the region,” it further added.
Notably, Gramado, located in the Serra Gaucha mountains, is a tourist hotspot and popular destination for Christmas vacations.A small plane with 10 people aboard crashed into shops in the centre of the tourist city of Gramado in southern Brazil on Sunday, civil defense officials said, and initial reports indicated that there were no survivors.
“Unfortunately, initial reports indicate that the aircraft’s occupants did not survive,” Governor Eduardo Leite said in a post on social media platform X.
According to the public security office of Rio Grande do Sul state, at least 15 people were taken to the city’s hospital, most of them suffering from smoke inhalation caused by the fire triggered by the crash.
The plane reportedly struck the chimney of a building, then the second floor of a house, before crashing into a furniture store, authorities said.
