Two people have died after a small plane crashed in Lower Saxony. The light aircraft came down on the roof of a residential house in the village of Ganderkesee, in the Oldenburg district, on Saturday morning for reasons that were initially unclear, police said. Police had first reported one person dead and one missing, but confirmed by the evening that both occupants of the aircraft had died.
According to police, the small plane had lost altitude for a reason that was initially unclear and crashed onto the residential estate. Emergency services, police and fire crews launched a large-scale operation. Emergency personnel from the Oldenburg district were reinforced by specialist units from the Bremen professional fire brigade.
For safety reasons, electricity was shut off in the area around the crash site. A support point was set up for local residents, where those affected were offered care and further assistance.
After completing the "extensive and complex recovery operation for the aircraft wreckage," it was established that two people had died in the crash, the Delmenhorst police inspectorate explained. "The deceased are the two occupants of the light aircraft, a 65-year-old man and a 77-year-old man." Both men were from Bremen, police said.
Recovering the aircraft wreckage from the roof of the house proved, according to police, "extremely challenging due to the conditions at the scene in the residential area." The aircraft was ultimately removed from the roof "in full," however. Evacuated residents were able to return to their homes, though the area directly around the crash site remained cordoned off. Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident.
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