At least 9 die in small plane crash in southern Brazil
At least nine people were killed when a small plane crashed on Sunday morning in Gramado, a popular tourist city in southern Brazil, authorities confirmed. The aircraft slammed into a commercial area of the city.
The plane crashed into the chimney of a building, struck the second floor of a house, and then “fell on a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul state security secretariat. An inn was also damaged in the incident.
“There are nine deaths confirmed by the civil defense, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cleber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the state civil police.
Authorities have not confirmed the number of passengers and crew aboard the Piper Cheyenne 400 turboprop, but earlier reports indicated the plane may have been carrying 10 people.
At least 15 people were hospitalized, most for smoke inhalation from the fire caused by the crash.
The plane had taken off from Canela, another tourist town in Rio Grande do Sul.
Gramado, known for its festive Christmas season, attracts a significant influx of visitors each year.
