Police carry out an investigation by houses that were hit by a plane in Gramado, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, on December 22, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

A small plane crashed into a Brazilian town that’s popular with tourists on Sunday (December 22, 2024), killing all 10 passengers on board and injuring more than a dozen people on the ground, Brazil’s Civil Defence Agency said.

The agency in a post on X said the plane hit the chimney of a home and then the second floor of a building before crashing into a mobile phone shop in a largely residential neighbourhood of Gramado. More than a dozen people who were on the ground were taken to hospitals with injuries including smoke inhalation, with two said to be in critical condition.

It is not immediately clear what caused the crash.

Local media reported that the plane was piloted by Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, a Brazilian businessman who was travelling with his family to Sao Paulo State. In a statement published on LinkedIn, Galeazzi’s company, Galeazzi & Associados, confirmed that the 61-year-old was on the plane, adding that he was traveling with his wife, their three daughters, several other family members and another company employee, who perished in the crash.

“In this moment of intense pain we are deeply thankful with the manifestations of solidarity and love that we have received from friends, colleagues and the community” the statement reads. “We also express our solidairity with those who have been affected by this accident in the region.”

Security cameras filmed the small Piper plane departing from Canela airport in Rio Grande do Sul State, minutes before it crashed in Gramado, which is about 10km from the airport.

Gramado is in the Serra Gaucha mountains and popular with Brazilian tourists who enjoy the cool weather, hiking spots and traditional architecture. The town was settled by large numbers of German and Italian immigrants in the 19th century and is a popular spot for Christmas vacations.

A regional turboprop plane carrying 62 people crashed near Sao Paulo in Brazil on Friday, killing all on board, local officials near the crash site said.

Video shared on social media showed what appeared to be the ATR-made plane spinning out of control as it plunged down behind a cluster of trees near houses, followed by a large plume of black smoke.

City officials at Valinhos, near Vinhedo, said there were no survivors and only one home in the local condominium complex had been damaged while none of the residents were hurt.

“I have to be the bearer of really bad news,” said President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaking at an event shortly after the crash. He asked for a minute of silence for the victims of the crash.

Airline Voepass said the plane, which had taken off from Cascavel, in the state of Parana, bound for Sao Paulo’s main international airport, crashed in the town of Vinhedo, about 80 km (50 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo.

The unlisted airline said it could not provide further information on what caused the plane, which had a PS-VPB registration, to crash.

Just minutes after the apparent accident, Sao Paulo’s state fire brigade said it was rushing seven crews to the scene of the crash.

The aircraft was listed by flight tracker FlightRadar24 as an ATR 72-500 turboprop. ATR is jointly owned by Airbus and Italian aerospace group Leonardo.

ATR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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