International

Ten Family Members Killed In Brazil Private Plane Crash

Published

5 hours ago

Dec 23, 2024.

Dennis

Ten members of a family, including Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, have died after their private plane crashed in the city of Gramado, located in southern Brazil.

Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, was killed along with his wife, three daughters, and other relatives, according to a statement from his company. The small aircraft reportedly struck a building’s chimney, as well as a house and a shop as it fell.

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Local authorities confirmed that 17 people on the ground were injured in the crash, two of them seriously.

The 61-year-old businessman was reportedly taking his family on a trip to Jundiaí, in the state of São Paulo. Governor Eduardo Leite of Rio Grande do Sul state confirmed that all 10 victims were members of Galeazzi’s family, and noted that the plane had taken off in adverse weather conditions.

The plane flew for only 3 kilometres (1.8 miles) before crashing into the urban area of Gramado just minutes after takeoff on Sunday morning.

Eyewitness Nadia Hansen described the crash to Reuters, saying, “At the time, it was revving up. You could see that it was accelerating a lot.”

“Then there was a bang as it hit the building and then it passed close to my house and then it fell, and I thought it had dropped in front of the house,” she said.

Images from the scene show emergency workers attending to the wreckage, surrounded by debris from damaged buildings.

Galeazzi, who was the CEO of Galeazzi & Associados, a corporate restructuring and crisis management firm based in São Paulo, was remembered in a tribute issued by the company on LinkedIn.

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

“We also sympathize with all those affected by the accident in the region,” it said, adding that it would co-operate with investigations into the accident.

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

Governor Eduardo Leite confirmed that the cause of the accident is under investigation by the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Centre (Cenipa).