Four members of American family missing after small plane crash off Bahamas
U.S. Coast Guard and Bahamian authorities are searching for two grandparents and two grandchildren whose private plane disappeared near Andros Island on Monday.
U.S. Coast Guard and Bahamian officials are conducting a search for an American family of four after a private aircraft is believed to have crashed off the coast of Andros Island, Bahamas, on Monday. The Royal Bahamian Defense Force requested Coast Guard assistance at about 2 p.m. following a report of a downed plane roughly 15 miles from Andros Island.
Bahamas Police said the aircraft, a PA-34 Piper five-seater registered N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay at approximately 11:12 a.m. and lost contact with air traffic control near the western side of Andros Island around 11:04 a.m., about 13 miles west of the island. Poor weather delayed the search, which is now ongoing.
The passengers were identified as Mario Lamar Sr., 80; Lili Lamar, 79; Sofi Sosa, 28; and Christian Sosa, 22. The family noted that Mario Lamar had more than four decades of piloting experience. The flight was headed for Miami Executive Airport.
"Police on the island of Andros are coordinating efforts to locate an aircraft believed to have crash-landed off the coast of Red Bays, North Andros," the Bahamas Police statement said.
The family has asked Bahamian officials, the U.S. Coast Guard and other authorities to deploy all available resources to locate the aircraft and its occupants as quickly as possible.