LILLE (France), April 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — French and British rescue teams have continued their search for a plane from the UK that disappeared over the English Channel on Saturday with two people on board.
The Piper PA-28 Cherokee was travelling from Wellesbourne in Warwickshire to Le Touquet in northern France, and had been flying for about an hour when it reportedly came down.
Neither of the the people on board have been named but both are understood to be British nationals.
The British-registered plane had taken off with five other light aircraft as part of a joint outing, the prefecture said.
Its last known position was half-way over the Channel some 45 kilometres from Dungeness in the south east of England, according to the UK coastguard.
The search resumed on Sunday after being suspended on Saturday evening.
In a statement, France’s Maritime Prefecture said the plane was the subject of a “worrying disappearance”.
“It crashed into British waters for an unknown reason,” a spokesman for the French emergency services said, according to the Evening Standard.
The French Navy has mobilised a Falcon 50 aircraft, a helicopter and a vessel that is already at sea to help locate the plane.
British aircraft are also taking part in the search.
All craft passing through the area have been instructed to report possible sightings or clues to the French authorities.
“All the ships sailing in the sector are also called upon to search for debris and to try to have more precise elements on an aircraft crash which could have been observed at sea,” the Maritime Prefecture said.
No debris or aircraft wreckage has been discovered.
Piper PA-28 Cherokees are light aircraft designed for personal use. The models include two-seater and four-seater planes. — NNN-AGENCIES