A light aircraft carrying Romanian billionaire Dan Petrescu and his family crashed into an empty office building near Milan on Sunday, killing all eight on board, Italian media reported.
Petrescu was reported to be the pilot of the single-engine Pilatus PC-12, which had been due to fly from Milan to the city of Olbia on the island of Sardinia. The aircraft went down minutes after takeoff, crashing into a building site, according to Bloomberg.
Eight people died in the crash, including Petrescu’s wife and son. Romania’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the death of seven of its citizens, all of whom held dual citizenships.
Petrescu, 68, was reported by Romanian media to be one of the richest people in his native country, with a personal net worth of over 1 billion euros ($1.2 billion).
Holding both Romanian and German citizenship, Petrescu kept a low profile as he built up a fortune in the post-Communist era.