A late-night search in Croatia ended in tragedy when rescuers located a crashed small aircraft in rugged mountain terrain near Zadar and found two people dead, authorities said.
Croatian police said the alarm was raised after air traffic control lost the plane’s signal at around 4pm (3pm Ireland time), prompting an immediate search operation.
The wreckage was eventually discovered in the mountains of Paklenica national park, about 60 kilometres northeast of the coastal city of Zadar.
“The search for the missing ultralight plane was concluded around 10pm when members of the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service found the plane and two dead persons,” the police said in a statement.
Officials did not disclose the nationality of the passengers.
Police said they will secure the area ahead of an on-site investigation into the circumstances of the crash, scheduled to take place in the early morning hours.
