The horrifying moment when a small aircraft plunged into the sea, killing an American man, his two pre-teen daughters and the pilot, off of a tiny Caribbean island was caught on video.
The tragedy occurred Thursday in the waters off Bequia, which is part of St. Vincent, around noon.
In one video, a person recording can be heard saying: ‘The plane crashed! Call the Coast Guard!’
The victims have been named by the local police as Christian Klepser, 51, his daughters, Madita, 10, and Annik, 12. The pilot was Robert Sachs. He also owned the plane involved. The family arrived in the area on December 26.
The group were en route to St. Lucia when the crash occurred, authorities said. Moments after taking off from JF Mitchell Airport in Bequia, the plane got into unspecified difficulties.
A few seconds into a social media clip that is circulating online, the plane can be seen speeding towards the water
A massive splash occurs as all four on board are killed by the impact
After the crash, the plane can be seen bobbing in the water. Local fishermen and divers descended on the scene in order to help with the rescue effort
Robert Sachs’ Bellanca 17-30A Super Viking shown here in a post on Facebook
Rescue crews are shown recovering the bodies of the deceased in the moments after the crash
Local fishermen and recreational swimmers who were in the area helped in the initial search, police said in a statement
Local fishermen and recreational swimmers who were in the area helped in the initial search, police said in a statement. The depth of the water is thought to be around 70 feet.
St. Vincent-based news outlet Searchlight reports that Sachs radioed the tower shortly after takeoff to tell them he was experiencing trouble and was turning back. That was the last communication.
In an interview with local media outlet iWitness News, a local fisherman criticized the coast guard’s response to the tragedy.
‘We explained to them that the tide was now starting to run so if you left it (the wreckage) there, it was a (possibility) that we wouldn’t find the plane again, that it would drift off,’ he said.
He added that the tide’s trajectory would have taken the plane to open water. Using ropes and a buoy to mark the location, the fishermen took the decision to retrieve the bodies themselves.
While another official told the outlet that the coast guard should have kept personnel in the area until the wreckage was fully recovered.
The unnamed fisherman said that he was close to the area where the plane impacted the water and arrived at the scene as it sank to the seabed.
When the coast guard arrived, the fisherman said that they were told to wait for official divers to arrive before the bodies could be retrieved.
According to his LinkedIn page, Sachs operated a diving business in Bequia alongside his wife, Cathy. He was a native of Springfield, New Jersey, who had been living in the Caribbean for close to 40 years.
The cause of the plane crash remains under investigation.