Israeli couple killed in light plane crash in Greece

Single-engine plane disappears from radar Tuesday night some 40 kilometers northwest of Zakynthos; plane's remnants, bodies found by rescue team

Reuters | Published: 04.29.09, 10:35

An Israeli couple was killed overnight Wednesday when their private single-engine plane crashed near the Greek island of Zakynthos.

Their bodies were found by Greek rescue services during the morning hours, as were remnants of the plane.

On Tuesday the couple took off in a private plane from the island of Kos along with two other people who flew in a different plane. The planes were scheduled to land in Corfu, but were forced to land on a different island due to inclement weather conditions before continuing towards Corfu.

Due to the weather conditions, one of the planes turned back and landed in Athens, while the couple's plane disappeared from the radar screen some 40 kilometers northwest of Zakynthos. Greek authorities sent a fighter jet and a helicopter to the site of the crash, which was located by tracking down a signal from the cell phone of one of the Israelis.

The helicopter spotted the plane's tail and alerted the rescue team, which made its way to the site on foot and found the bodies.

The Foreign Ministry said the couple's family has been notified and that their son has left for Greece.

A little more than a year ago five Israeli diamond merchants and a local pilot were killed when a light plane crashed in Namibia shortly after takeoff.