A search operation has been launched in The Bahamas after a small aircraft carrying four members of the same family disappeared while travelling from the island nation to Florida.
The five-seat PA-34 Piper, with registration number N212ML, departed Great Harbour Cay in the Berry Islands on Monday and was heading for Miami Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County, Florida.
According to Bahamian authorities, air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft about 13 miles west of Andros Island.
Police said officers on Andros were working with other agencies to locate the aircraft, which was believed to have crash-landed off the coast of Red Bays in North Andros.
The missing passengers were identified by family member Silvia Larrieu as 80-year-old Mario Lamar, who was piloting the aircraft, his 79-year-old wife, Lily Lamar, and their grandchildren, Christian Sosa, 22, and Sophie Sosa, 28.
Larrieu said the family had travelled to Great Harbour Cay for the Labor Day weekend, describing the location as a place they had visited throughout their lives.
“They’ve spent their whole life going there. That’s like their second home,” she said.
She said alarm was raised after Sophie sent a message to the family group chat saying they were boarding the plane, but failed to respond to messages several hours later.
Larrieu appealed to people travelling by boat or aircraft in the area to assist the search teams by reporting any signs they may have noticed.
“Whether it’s by plane, by boat, any signs that you’ve noticed, to help us find them and bring them back alive,” said Larrieu.
Relatives described Lamar as an experienced pilot who took good care of his aircraft.
His son was also reported to have joined the search operation in a boat launched from Great Harbour Cay.
Bahamian officials contacted the United States Coast Guard at about 2 p.m. on Monday to formally request assistance in locating the missing aircraft.
A US Coast Guard spokesperson said American teams joined the search and deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft to support Bahamian authorities.
“Southeast District command center watchstanders coordinated the launch of an HC-144 Ocean Sentry to assist Bahamian authorities with the search,” the spokesperson said.
Flight tracking data cited by the Miami Herald showed that the aircraft descended from 10,000 feet to 3,700 feet within about three minutes before disappearing from radar.
Authorities have yet to establish what happened to the aircraft or whether it actually crashed.
The search was later suspended after worsening weather conditions hampered the operation. Bahamian police said it remained unclear when the search would resume.
The aircraft disappeared from radar while a storm was affecting the area, although officials have not confirmed whether the weather contributed to the incident.
