One Of Romania's Richest Men Dies In Plane Crash Near Milan, Alongside Family

A light aircraft carrying Romanian billionaire Dan Petrescu and his family crashed into an empty office building near Milan, killing all eight on board, Italian media reported.

The single-engine Pilatus PC-12 crashed minutes after takeoff from Milan’s Linate airport on October 3 as it traveled to Olbia on the Italian island of Sardinia.

The plane had already caught fire when it crashed into an empty municipal building in San Donato Milanese, a town near Milan, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.

Italy’s National Flight Safety Agency has opened an investigation into the cause of the crash.

Petrescu, 68, was one of Romania's richest men, having built his estimated $3 billion fortune in real estate and through ownership of a chain of supermarkets and malls. He also held German citizenship.

Corriere della Sera reported Petrescu’s wife, son, and five friends were on the plane, as well as a 1-year-old child who had been baptized the day before.

The family was headed to their villa in Olbia, where Petrescu's elderly mother was waiting for them, Corriere said.

The plane was bought in 2015 by Petrescu together with Vova Cohn, a former shareholder of the football club Dinamo Bucharest.

Based on reporting by Corriere della Sera