Private plane crash in Brazil kills pilot and family

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

Brazilian businessman Luis 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 crashed into the chimney of a building as well as a house and a shop when it fell.

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

Galeazzi, 61, was taking his family on a trip to Jundiai, Sao Paulo state, according to Brazilian media reports.

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

The plane reportedly flew 3km (1.8 miles) before crashing in the city's urban area just minutes after taking off on Sunday morning.

“He was gaining momentum at the time. You could see he was accelerating a lot,” an eyewitness, Nadia Hansen, told Reuters.

“Then there was a bang when it hit the building and then it went near my house and then it fell and I thought it fell in front of the house,” she said.

Pictures from the scene show emergency workers dealing with the smoldering wreckage amid debris from heavily damaged buildings.

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

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

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

“We also sympathize with all those affected by the incident in the region,” the statement said, adding that it would cooperate with investigations into the incident.

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

The state governor, Mr Leite, said the cause of the accident was being investigated by the Aviation Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa).

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

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

The region was hit hard in May this year by unprecedented floods that claimed dozens of lives and displaced around 150,000 people from their homes.