A multimillionaire gym owner and his family were on board a small plane that crashed into the ocean off the coast of Costa Rica, authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Gold’s Gym owner Rainer Schaller, 53, his girlfriend Christiane Schikorsky, 44, their children Aaron Schaller and Finja Sghikorsky were among the passengers in the twin-engine turbopop on Friday, Costa Rican ministry sources told AFP.
The announcement confirms an earlier report by Schaller’s company McFit that the family were on board the plane along with the entrepreneur’s personal trainer, Marcus Kurreck, 40.
It was being flown by a 66-year-old Swiss pilot when it suddenly disappeared on Friday afternoon, before parts of the plane were found in the sea on Saturday.
Authorities have since recovered the bodies of an adult and a child near the wreckage site about 20 miles from Limon Airport – where the plane was due to land.
The identities of the victims have not yet been released as the other four people on board remain missing and are also feared dead.
Gold’s Gym owner Rainer Schaller, 53, is feared dead after his plane crashed off the coast of Costa Rica on Friday night
Also on the flight were his girlfriend Christiane Schikorsky, 44 (pictured together) and the entrepreneur’s personal trainer, Marcus Kurreck, 40
He was traveling with his children Aaron Schaller and Finja Sghikorsky. The body of a child has since been recovered, but it remains unclear which child it was
The plane reportedly lost communications with air traffic around Barra de Parismina near Limon, alerting Costa Rican authorities that the plane went missing a short time later, according to Security Minister Jorge Torres.
“Around six o’clock in the afternoon, we received an alert about a flight from Mexico to Limon Airport with five German passengers,” Torres said.
The plane was flying about 275 miles per hour and was about 230 feet in the air when it lost communications.
It is not known what caused the plane to crash.
It was scheduled to land at Juan Santamaria Airport just before 7 p.m.
A search began immediately but was temporarily called off due to poor weather, but resumed on Saturday.
Costa Rican authorities said parts of the twin-engine turboprop plane were found in the water on Saturday after the plane went missing on Friday.
The aircraft was a nine-seat, Italian-made Piaggio P180 Avanti known for its distinctive profile.
Authorities have found two bodies – an adult and a child – among personal belongings and parts of the plane
Parts of the Italian-made Piaggio P180 Avanti were found in the water
Personal items such as cosmetic bags and backpacks were found by authorities. The plane lost communications with air traffic around 6 p.m. and was found nearly 20 miles from the airport
Costa Rican authorities said parts of the twin-engine turboprop plane were found in the water on Saturday
Schaller is listed as the “founder, owner and CEO of RSG Group,” a conglomerate of 21 fitness, lifestyle and fashion brands that operates in 48 countries and employs 41,000 people either directly or through franchises.
He was in the news in 2010 as the organizer of the Berlin techno festival Love Parade. A crush at the event killed 21 people and injured more than 500. Authorities said at the time that Schaller’s security forces failed to stem the flow of people into a tunnel when the situation at the entrance to the festival site was already tense.
Schaller defended himself against the allegations of misconduct and stated that his security concept had been approved by the city.
Schaller is listed as the “founder, owner and CEO of RSG Group,” a conglomerate of 21 fitness, lifestyle and fashion brands that operates in 48 countries and employs 41,000 people either directly or through franchises
The happy couple (pictured) and the rest of their group flew to Limon from Mexico
Schikorsky shared a photo of herself on a jet on her social media. It is not clear if this is the same plane that crashed
One of the children’s bodies was found, but it is unclear which one