Sat. Jul 6th, 2024
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THE bodies of an adult and a child have been found at sea in a search for missing millionaire Rainer Schaller and his family after their private plane crashed off the coast of Costa Rica.

Officials made the tragic find during a search for the McFit founder, 53, his girlfriend, Christiane Schikorsky, and their kids Aaron and Finja after their jet vanished on its way to Limón.

Some of the passengers' belongings have been found during the search7

Some of the passengers’ belongings have been found during the searchCredit: Twitter
One of the plane's seats was found among the debris7

One of the plane’s seats was found among the debrisCredit: Twitter
The belongings were reportedly found 17m from the plane's destination

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The belongings were reportedly found 17m from the plane’s destinationCredit: Twitter
A desperate search is underway for the missing passengers

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A desperate search is underway for the missing passengersCredit: Twitter
McFit founder Rainer Schaller was reportedly on board the private jet

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McFit founder Rainer Schaller was reportedly on board the private jetCredit: AFP
Rainer Schaller and his girlfriend Christiane Schikorsky

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Rainer Schaller and his girlfriend Christiane SchikorskyCredit: Getty
The Piaggio 180 jet carrying Schaller and his family disappeared near Costa Rica (file photo)

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The Piaggio 180 jet carrying Schaller and his family disappeared near Costa Rica (file photo)Credit: Getty

Costa Rica’s public security ministry confirmed that a body of an adult and a body of a minor were discovered during the search operation by the National Coast Guard and the Air Surveillance Service on Saturday, Teletica reported.

Authorities have also found luggage and one of the jet’s seats about 25 miles from the jet’s destination at Juan Santamaría airport.

The German millionaire had reportedly taken off from Mexico alongside his family on Friday night when their plane disappeared.

A man named Marcus Kurreck – thought to be a personal trainer – was also on board.

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Civil Aviation Authority director Fernando Naranjo told the outelt: “The plane disappeared from radar about 25 miles (approx. 40 km) before Limón airport.

“The plane was due to land at 6:58 p.m., we lost it at an altitude of 2,000 feet.”

The search was relaunched after it was called off due to bad weather.

Costa Rica’s public security minister, Jorge Torres, said the Piaggio 180 jet carrying the five German nationals vanished on its way to Limon in the east of the country.

The plane reportedly lost contact with the airport’s control tower at around 6pm while flying some 20 miles off the coast near the Parismina area.

A McFit spokeswoman later confirmed Schaller, the company’s founder and CEO, and his family were on the plane.

The private jet took off from Palenque in Mexico – a city popular for its archaeological ruins – two hours and 41 minutes before it lost contact with the control tower near Limón.

According to FlightRadar pulled by BILD, the plane was 69 metres above sea level flying at a speed of 274mph when it disappeared.

Schaller founded the fitness chain McFit in 1996 and there are now more than 250 studios in Europe and 1.4 million members.

He hit the headlines in 2010 after 21 people died in a stampede at a festival he organised in the western German city of Duisburg.

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After the tragedy, Schaller said the festival would be permanently cancelled.

Schaller testified as a witness in court proceedings in 2018, accepted moral responsibility, but was not charged.

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