Private plane crash in Brazil kills pilot and his family

10 members of a family have died after a plane crashed in the city of Gramado in the south of Brazil.

Brazilian businessman Luiz Claudio Galeazzi, who was piloting the plane, died in the crash along with his wife, three daughters and relatives, a statement from his company said.

The small plane reportedly hit the chimney of another building, as well as a house and a shop when it crashed.

Local officials said 17 people who were on the ground were injured in the accident, including two who are in critical condition.

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

All 10 victims of the accident were members of the Galeazzi family, Rio Grande do Sul state governor Eduardo Leite told reporters. He added that the plane took off in bad weather.

The plane reportedly flew about 3km (1.8 miles) before entering the city’s downtown area minutes after takeoff on Sunday morning.

“At that point, it was starting again. You could see it was moving very quickly,” eyewitness Nadia Hansen told Reuters.

“Then there was a noise when it hit the house and then passed near my house and then fell, I thought it fell in front of the house,” he said.

Pictures from the scene show emergency workers handling debris from the heavily damaged building.

Mr Galeazzi was the head of Galeazzi & Associados, a restructuring and crisis management company based in São Paulo.

The company posted a comment on LinkedIn, paying tribute to the 61-year-old.

“Luiz Galeazzi will forever be remembered for his dedication to his family and his outstanding work as the leader of Galeazzi & Associados,” he said.

“We also sympathize with all those who have been affected by this accident in the area,” said the organization and said that it will cooperate with the investigation into the accident.

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

Governor Leite said the cause of the accident is being investigated by the Aeronautical Accident Investigation and Prevention Center (Cenipa).

“The entire government is gathered here to provide the necessary assistance,” he told reporters at the scene.

Gramado is a popular tourist destination, known for hosting events during the holidays.

The region was hit hard in May this year by unprecedented floods, which killed dozens and displaced nearly 150,000 people from their homes.