The plane was coming from Mexico when it suddenly disappeared from radar. Apparently the weather was bad at the time. Now the Coast Guard and Aviation Authority are looking for the missing plane.
(dpa) A plane with five German passengers has disappeared off the coast of Costa Rica. Communication with the machine was broken around 6 p.m. (local time) – i.e. early Saturday morning at two o’clock – Costa Rica’s Ministry of Public Security announced on Facebook. The plane was therefore on its way from Mexico to Puerto Limón on the Caribbean coast of the Central American country. Investigations have been initiated together with neighboring countries, it said. The “image” had previously reported about it.
“The plane disappeared from radar about 25 miles from Limón airport. The plane was supposed to land at 6:58 p.m., we lost it at an altitude of 2,000 feet,” Civil Aviation Authority Director Fernando Naranjo told Teletica.
Due to unfavorable weather conditions, the search work was initially stopped during the night. On Saturday, the Coast Guard and the Airspace Surveillance Agency should resume the search. A command center was set up at Puerto Limón airport to coordinate the search work.
Five German passengers on board
“There were five German passengers on the plane,” said Public Safety Minister Jorge Torres in a video released by Teletica. Contact with the machine was lost near the village of Barra del Parismina.
“We are aware of the case,” said the Foreign Office in Berlin. “Our embassy in San José is in contact with the local authorities to clarify the matter.”
According to media reports, the missing plane was a Piaggio P180 Avanti business jet. She started in Palenque in the Mexican state of Chiapas in the afternoon. The local ruined city of the Mayas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important archaeological sites in Mexico.