A small twin-engine aircraft crashed on Sunday morning near the center of the tourist city of Gramado, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the ten people on board died, said the National Civil Defense in the middle of the afternoon.

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The victims, both crew members and passengers, were from the same family, according to preliminary information from the agency. Local media said that it was the businessman Luiz Cláudio Galeazzi, who piloted the plane, and his family.

Um avião de pequeno porte se acidentou hoje no Rio Grande do Sul, o Piper Cheyenne decolou de Canela e caiu em Gramado, após se chocar com um prédio. A ocorrência ainda está em andamento e não há informações ainda sobre as vítimas.@lito pic.twitter.com/L61tAk54E9

— Cesar Bertolucci (@BertolucciCesar) December 22, 2024

In addition, 17 people on the scene were injured, two of them seriously due to burns and smoke inhalation from a post-crash fire. Among the injured were tourists staying at a guest house affected by the rubble.

The aircraft, a Piper Cheyenne 400, took off from the regional airport of Canela in foggy conditions and crashed near its destination in Jundiaí, São Paulo. Videos of the accident show a fire in an area where there was exposed furniture.

Reitero minhas condolências e sentimentos aos familiares das vítimas do acidente aéreo em Gramado e reforço o compromisso das forças de segurança do Estado de acompanhar de perto o desenrolar desse caso.

Seguimos trabalhando com foco na apuração e no suporte às vítimas.…

— Eduardo Leite (@EduardoLeite_) December 22, 2024

Rio Grande do Sul governor said in his X account that General Institute of Forensics (IGP) is working to identify the victims “using rigorous scientific protocols”, as engineering teams are assessing the structural damage using 3D scanners and causes of the crash are being investigated by the Civil Police and CENIPA.

Governor Leite indicated that the priority was to attend to the wounded and stabilize the damaged furniture store. Both the governor and President Lula da Silva expressed their sadness at the incident and assured that authorities are investigating the causes of the accident.

For his part, the Brazilian president sent “condolences to the families of the victims of the plane crash in the center of Gramado, in Rio Grande do Sul. I hope that the injured have a speedy recovery.”

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