Brazil: Small plane crashes into shops killing at least 10 people

A small plane with 10 people aboard crashed into shops in the centre of the tourist city of Gramado in southern Brazil, civil defence officials say, and initial reports indicated that there were no survivors.

Governor Eduardo Leite said emergency services rushed to the crash site.

“Unfortunately, initial reports indicate that the aircraft’s occupants did not survive,” Governor Eduardo Leite said in a post on social media platform X.

According to the public security office of Rio Grande do Sul state, at least 15 people were taken to the city’s hospital, most of them suffering from smoke inhalation caused by the fire the crash triggered.

The plane reportedly first struck the chimney of a building, then the second floor of a house, before crashing into a furniture store, authorities said.

Debris also reached a nearby inn.

Footage posted on Brazil’s Civil Defence Agency’s X account shows parts of the wreckage on fire near outdoor cafe chairs, tables and umbrellas.

Local media reported that the passengers were members of the same family and were travelling to Sao Paulo state from another town in Rio Grande do Sul state, AP reported.

The cause of the crash is not clear.

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 holidays.

with AP