(Stockholm) An Austrian private plane with four people on board, which was to land in Germany but no longer responded to air traffic controllers, crashed into the sea off Latvia on Sunday, Swedish authorities announced.
Posted at 4:26 p.m.
German, Danish and Swedish fighter planes were rushed to try to make contact with the crew of the ghost plane which was continuing its flight over northern Europe. “But they didn’t see anyone,” Swedish rescue chief Lars Antonsson told AFP.
The private plane, which had taken off from Jerez in Spain and was due to land in Cologne in Germany, entered Swedish airspace in the Baltic Sea before crashing into the waves off Ventspils, Latvia, shortly before 8 p.m. (2 p.m. EDT).
The plane had a relatively constant path until it approached the Latvian coast, when it rapidly lost altitude.
The aircraft fell “when it ran out of fuel,” said Antonsson.
The nationalities of the four people on board were not disclosed.
According to Mr. Antonsson, the Latvian rescue teams are directing the operations on the scene of the tragedy, with the help of a plane and a helicopter from the Swedish coast guard. “No human remains have been found,” he said.
The reasons for the tragedy remain unknown for the moment.
“We have no explanation, we can only speculate,” said Antonsson. “But on board, they were clearly unable” to react.
Latvian authorities have made no statement regarding the crash.