Plane crashes into small town: Ten dead, dozens injured!

By Nick Kaiser

Gramado - All ten occupants ofa small plane have died ina crash in the southern Brazilian city of Gramado.

The victims were a businessman from São Paulo, who was at the wheel, and nine of his family members, as the governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite, announced at a press conference.

On the ground, 17 people were injured, two of them seriously, he said.

According to a report by the portal "G1", the falling plane hit a residential building, a furniture store, an inn and the chimney of another building in the small town.

The furniture store's Instagram account stated that no one was in the store at the time of the accident. "We're all fine, apart from the huge scare."

According to Leite, the plane crashed a few minutes after taking off from Canela airport in the morning. Its destination was Jundiaí, a good 1000 kilometers to the north in the state of São Paulo. The cause is being investigated, said the governor. The weather had not been ideal.

It is an area of Brazil that is characterized by German immigration - the first settlers arrived 200 years ago. The region, where half-timbered houses can be found in some places and German traditions are upheld, is also a popular vacation destination in the South American country.