6 feared dead in small plane crash off Costa Rica

SAN JOOSE, Costa Rica — Six people, including the German businessman behind Gold’s Gym were feared to have been killed when a small plane crashed into a Caribbean near the Costa Rican coast.

All five passengers were thought to be German citizens according to Security Minister Jorge Torres. The pilot of the plane was Swiss. Schaller’s relative was at least one of the passengers on board the plane.

Costa Rican authorities claimed that pieces of the twin-engine turboprop aircraft had been found in the water Saturday after the flight disappeared on Friday.

The flight plan for the small charter plane named Rainer Schaller as a guest. A man with the same name owns international chains of gym and fitness outlets, including McFit and Gold’s Gym. Authorities did not immediately confirm Schaller’s relationship with at least one other passenger on the plane.

Martin Arias, Costa Rica’s assistant security minister, said no bodies had been found yet at the site, about 17 miles (28 kilometers) off the coast from the Limon airport. Arias stated that

“Pieces were found that indicated that this aircraft was there. “We have not yet found any bodies either dead or alive,” Arias said.

The plane was a nine-seat Italian Piaggio P 180 Avanti. It is well-known for its distinctive profile. The plane disappeared from radar while it was heading towards Limon, a coastal resort.

The security minister said the flight had set out from Mexico.

” Around six in the afternoon, we received an alert about a flight from Mexico to Limon airport. It was carrying five German passengers,” Torres stated. The bad weather forced the temporary halt to the search, but it started immediately.

Rainer Schaller is listed as “Founder, Owner and CEO of the RSG Group,” a conglomerate of 21 fitness, lifestyle and fashion brands that operates in 48 countries and has 41,000 employees, either directly or through franchises.

Schaller was featured in 2010 news for his role in organizing the Berlin Love Parade techno festival. A crowd at the event caused more injuries than 500. and killed 21 persons. Authorities claimed that Schaller’s security failed in stopping people from entering a tunnel, despite the fact that the situation was already very tense at the festival grounds entrance.

Schaller denied any wrongdoing and stated that his security plan had been approved by the city.