Brazil: Aircraft crashes into shops in tourist city of Gramado, all 10 passengers feared dead
A small aircraft carrying 10 passengers crashed into shops in the tourist city of Gramado in southern Brazil, Reuters reported on Sunday. According to civil and defence officials, all passengers are feared dead.
“I am monitoring the sad incident of an aircraft crash in Gramado with the state security forces. We have all the personnel from the municipality and Canela mobilized to respond to the incident. I am also traveling to monitor the operation on site,” Governor Eduardo Leite said in a post on social media platform X.
“At the moment, the priority is to ensure the isolation of the area and treat the victims who suffered injuries. Unfortunately, initial information indicates that the occupants of the aircraft did not survive,” Leite added.
Rio Grande do Sul state’s public security office stated that 15 people were taken to the city’s hospital, most of them suffering from smoke inhalation caused by the fire triggered by the crash.
The plane reportedly first struck the chimney of a building, then the second floor of a house, before crashing into a furniture store, authorities were quoted by Reuters as saying. Debris also reached a nearby inn.
Gramado is the most popular tourist destination in Rio Grande do Sul, which was severely impacted earlier this year by unprecedented floods that claimed dozens of lives, destroyed infrastructure and significantly disrupted the state’s economy.
The accident occurred just days before Christmas, a particularly busy period for the city, which is traditionally adorned with decorations and hosts festive events.
Brazil bus crash death toll rises to 41
In another development, authorities on Sunday raised to 41 the death toll in a weekend bus crash in southeastern Brazil that President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called a “terrible tragedy.”
According to an AFP report, the toll was up from the 38 deaths announced after the crash Saturday, when the Federal Highway Police called it the worst accident on the nation’s highways since 2007.
The Civil Police told reporters Sunday that “41 bodies” had been removed from the accident scene near the mining town of Teofilo Otoni, in Minas Gerais state.