Costa Rican authorities on Tuesday ended the search for the plane in which German billionaire Rainer Schaller and his family were traveling, nearly two weeks after it crashed in the Caribbean.
Starting in the late 1990s with just a single gym in the German city of Wurzburg, Schaller grew his low-cost McFit chain into the largest fitness group in Europe.
In 2020, his company acquired the major US fitness chain Gold’s Gym, bringing its global footprint to more than 900 facilities on six continents.
After his plane went missing on October 21st Costa Rica, Panamanian and German search teams have conducted an exhaustive search for Rainer Schaller, his plane and its passengers.
Crews initially recovered the body of a minor and one adult along with some luggage and debris. Since the discovery on the initial day they have been able to locate any other remnants of the crash. The identity of those persons recovered has not been released as of this time.
The plane went down in the ocean, just 28 kilometers from its destination of the Caribbean port town of Limon, Costa Rica.
Strong currents and deep waters hampered search efforts from the beginning.
The plane, an Italian made turboprop aircraft, had departed from Mexico to Costa Rica for a family vacation in Latin America.
No distress call was reported and local officials reported the plane suffered a sudden drop in altitude before contact was lost with the pilot.
Costa Rica Civil Aviation has issued an updated statement thanking the Coast Guard and all involved for their efforts. They also said that while the search for the plane has ended their office will continue with their investigation in coordination with international parties.
