Search underway for US family missing after plane lost contact off Bahamas coast

Henri-Alain SEGALEN/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images

A South Florida family is asking for help finding their loved ones after a plane carrying four relatives went missing while flying from the Bahamas to the Miami area, prompting a multi-agency search effort involving the US Coast Guard.

The PA-34 Piper, a five-seater aircraft, left Great Harbour Cay around 11:12 a.m. Monday bound for Opa-locka, Florida, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said. Air traffic control later lost contact with the plane roughly 13 miles west of Andros Island, the largest island in the Bahamas.

“On the flight this morning was my uncle Mario Lamar, his wife Lily Lamar and two of his grandchildren, Christian Sosa and Sophie Sosa,” Silvi Larrieu told CNN affiliate WSVN . Her uncle, who is 80, is an experienced pilot, relatives said.

“Whether it’s by plane, by boat, any signs that you’ve noticed, to help us find them and bring them back alive,” Larrieu told WSVN.

Authorities were alerted to the missing plane around 2:20 p.m., when police received a report that “an aircraft may have gone down in the waters off Red Bays,” a settlement on the northwestern tip of Andros Island, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.

According to tracking site FlightRadar24, the plane, which bears the tail number N212ML, appears to have circled off the Bahamian coast before disappearing from radar.

At the time of the plane’s disappearance, there were heavy thunderstorms in the area, though it’s unclear if weather may have played a factor.

The US Coast Guard said it was assisting the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in the search, some 15 miles off Andros Island, and had deployed an HC-144 Ocean Sentry surveillance plane to scour the waters.

An initial search attempt was delayed by bad weather but was expected to resume once conditions improved, police said, citing the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association.

“Efforts to locate the aircraft and its occupants remain a priority,” police said.

CNN has reached out to the Civil Aviation Authority Bahamas and the Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association, the FAA and NTSB for details.

CNN’s Celina Tebor, Aaron Cooper and Amanda Jackson contributed to this report.

亨利·阿兰·塞格伦/伽玛·拉福/盖蒂图片社

一架载有四名亲属的飞机从巴哈马飞往迈阿密地区途中失踪，南佛罗里达州的一个家庭正在请求帮助寻找他们的亲人，这引发了包括美国海岸警卫队在内的多部门联合搜寻行动。

巴哈马皇家警察部队称，一架五座的PA-34 Piper飞机于周一上午11点12分左右从大港礁起飞，目的地是佛罗里达州的奥帕洛卡。空中交通管制部门随后在巴哈马最大岛屿安德罗斯岛以西约13英里处与该飞机失去联系。

“今天早上搭乘这趟航班的有我的叔叔马里奥·拉马尔、他的妻子莉莉·拉马尔以及他的两个孙子孙女克里斯蒂安·索萨和索菲·索萨，”西尔维·拉里厄告诉CNN附属电视台WSVN。她的亲属表示，她80岁的叔叔是一位经验丰富的飞行员。

“无论是乘飞机还是乘船，如果你发现了任何线索，请告诉我们，帮助我们找到他们，让他们活着回来，”拉里厄告诉 WSVN。

巴哈马皇家警察部队表示，当局在下午 2 点 20 分左右接到通知，称“一架飞机可能在安德罗斯岛西北角的红湾附近水域坠毁”。

据追踪网站 FlightRadar24 显示，这架尾号为 N212ML 的飞机似乎在巴哈马海岸附近盘旋了一圈后便从雷达上消失了。

飞机失踪时，该地区正值强雷暴天气，但目前尚不清楚天气是否是造成飞机失踪的原因。

美国海岸警卫队表示，他们正在协助巴哈马皇家国防军在安德罗斯岛附近约 15 英里处进行搜寻，并已部署一架 HC-144 海洋哨兵侦察机对水域进行搜索。

警方援引巴哈马海空救援协会的消息称，最初的搜救行动因恶劣天气而延误，但预计一旦情况好转就会恢复。

警方表示：“寻找失事飞机及其乘员仍然是首要任务。”

CNN已联系巴哈马民航局、巴哈马空中海上救援协会、美国联邦航空管理局和国家运输安全委员会，以了解详情。

CNN的塞琳娜·特博尔、亚伦·库珀和阿曼达·杰克逊对本报道亦有贡献。