The owner and CEO of American gym chain Gold's Gym has been confirmed to have been on board a plane which disappeared and crashed off Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast.
Rainer Schaller's aircraft was flying over the water when it disappeared from radar on Friday (21 October), with five German passengers and a Swiss pilot on board on a flight path from Mexico.
In a post on Facebook, the Costa Rican Ministry of Public Security announced that a plane heading to Limon, Costa Rica, had lost contact with the control tower at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport at about 6pm local time while over the northeastern Parismina area, located off the country’s Caribbean coast.
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The day after the flight disappeared, Costa Rican authorities confirmed that pieces of the twin-engine turboprop aircraft had been discovered in the water approximately 17 miles (28 kilometers) off the coast from the Limon airport.
Martin Arias, the vice president of the Ministry of Public Security, said that the coast guard began a search operation at 5am local time on Saturday morning, and that remains of the plane were discovered at 5:50am.
Authorities searching the site have confirmed the discovery of two bodies, as well as backpacks and bags. The bodies have not yet been identified, but Costa Rica's Security Ministry said they included one adult and one child.
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Following the incident, the RSG Group of gym outlets, which includes Gold’s Gym, confirmed that Schaller, as well as friends and members of his family, were on board the plane.
In a statement issued on Monday, the company said that Schaller, 'his family, and two other people were on board the aircraft at the time of the crash'.
The statement continued: “We are shocked, stunned, and full of grief about this tragic accident. The news during the last few days has shaken us deeply, and our thoughts are with the family in these difficult hours.”
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“As the situation is currently still being investigated on-site, we cannot comment further at this time and ask for your understanding.”
On LinkedIn, RSG Group credits Schaller as the founder of the company that has grown to become an internationally operating business with 41,000 employees, including franchisees, at around 1,000 locations in 48 countries'. It has 6.4 million customers, and operates across gyms, sports nutrition, lifestyle brands and digital services.
Arias has also said that Red Cross is among the authorities which have been asked to assist with search and rescue operations.
Topics: World News
Emily Brown