'Speed Racer' Actor Christian Oliver and His Two Daughters Killed in Caribbean Plane Crash
Actor Christian Oliver was killed along with his two daughters when their small plane crashed into the sea off a Caribbean island on Thursday. The owner and pilot of the plane, identified as Robert Sachs, also died in the crash.
According to the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force, Oliver, 51, and his daughters, Madita Klepser, 10, and Annik Klepser, 12, were on board the single-engine plane when it took off from J.F. Mitchell Airport in Becquia and headed for nearby St. Lucia before it experienced difficulties and landed in the ocean.
Shortly after takeoff, the aircraft experienced difficulties and "plummeted into the ocean," the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said in a statement. "Fishermen and divers from Paget Farm went to the scene of the incident in their boats to render assistance," it added. "All four bodies have been recovered."
"The RSVGPF expresses condolences to all who are negatively affected by this tragic incident," the statement continued. "The RSVGPF wishes to give full credit to the valiant efforts of the Fishermen and Divers from the Bequia community who collaborated with the SVG Coast Guard in the retrieval operation. The bodies were recovered from the wreckage by the divers and handed over to Coast Guard personnel at the scene. The RSVGPF and the SVG Coast Guard Service value the partnership and collaboration of members of the public in the execution of their duties. The selfless and brave acts of the fishermen and divers is very much appreciated and supported 100 percent by the authorities."
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
Oliver, whose real name was Christian Klepser, starred in movies such as Speed Racer, The Good German and Valkyrie and appeared in several TV series, including Saved By the Bell: The New Class. He recently appeared in last year's Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny alongside Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Mads Mikkelsen, Antonio Banderas and John Rhys-Davies, and directed by James Mangold.
The late actor, originally from Frankfurt, Germany, famously played a detective in the long-running German TV drama Alarm für Cobra 11, about a team of highway cops.
Days earlier, Oliver shared a photo on his Instagram page of a beach during the sunset, wishing his followers a happy new year "from somewhere in paradise."
Actor Bai Ling paid tribute to Oliver in an Instagram post on Friday, revealing that she had been working with Oliver on a movie called Forever Hold Your Peace and was due to shoot a scene with him.
"I cannot express the sorrow I felt when our [director] Nick called me not long ago [to say] that the plane he took had crashed, including his beautiful 2 daughters and the pilot had all passed!" she wrote.
"He was so nice, works so hard and such a brave actor and a beautiful gentle person, we played lovers in this film, just so so so sad ……. And his daughters were so so young ….." she added. "#rip dear Christian may your soul Rest In Peace, Sending love To your families 💖🙏💖"
According to IMDb, Oliver played a character called Ivan in the still-in-production movie.
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