STAR TRAGEDY
Indiana Jones and Speed Racer actor Christian Oliver, 51, killed with daughters in horror plane crash in the Caribbean
Witnesses described watching the plane plummet into the water as it nosedived through the air
AN American actor who starred in Indiana Jones died alongside his two daughters, aged 10 and 12, in a plane crash in the Caribbean.
Christian Oliver, 51, died when the plane he was flying in with his family plummeted and crashed off the coast of an island.
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The plane's pilot also died alongside Oliver and his children, Madita and Annik.
The actor appeared in several big screen hits including Saved By The Bell and Valkyrie.
The horror plane crash happened around noon on Thursday, off the coast of Bequia.
The small island is part of St Vincent in the Caribbean.
He is tragically set to appear soon in a film called Forever Hold Your Peace, which he stopped shooting in late December.
The film's director, Nick Lyon, paid tribute to the star online and wrote: "We talked about producing a film together for years and finally did it! Thank you for being a great colleague, actor and friend".
Local reports said he arrived with his children in the Caribbean on December 26 after filming.
Just two days before he died Oliver posted a snap on a tropical beach with the caption: "Let love rule. Wishing all of you the best for 2024".
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The group were reportedly heading for St Lucia when their jet crashed not long after taking off from an airport in Bequia.
Footage of the horrific smash taken by a passer-by can be heard saying "The plane crashed! Call the Coast Guard!".
The actor filed for divorce from his ex-wife, LA-based journalist Jessica Muroz, in December 2021.
Pilot Robert Sachs contacted the tower shortly after taking off to let them know the jet was in trouble and that he was turning around.
This was the last communication from the plane according to local reports.
The water around the crash site is reportedly only around 70 feet, and locals helped emergency services search the water.
German-born Oliver, who worked in acting for 15 years, had starred alongside Care Blanchett, Tom Cruise and George Clooney.
He also headed an LA-based production company.
Oliver was a voice actor for 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, and played Brian Keller on Saved By The Bell in the 1990s.
One local fisherman slammed the coastguard's efforts following the tragedy.
He told local outlet iWitness News: "We explained to them that the tide was now starting to run so if you left it (the wreckage) there, it was a (possibility) that we wouldn’t find the plane again, that it would drift off."
The unnamed fisherman was close to the crash site and arrived there as the jet sank.
Several fishermen were then going to use ropes and a buoy to retrieve the bodies from the water themselves.
But the coast guard told them to hold fire until official divers arrived at the scene.
A witness to the crash, Cornell Campbell, said the plane sparked concern in the area by making loud noises from its engine and propeller before it smashed.
"Everything shut off the first time. So, I told my friend, "That plane is going to crash." But the plane kicked up back again like it built up back a power," he said.
It soon lost altitude and as the pilot apparently tried to recover from its dip, the plane lost power and "dived down".
Campbell described the jet "exploding" after it hit the water.
He said: "But when it sinking, something went "Bouff!" in the water and that is why I said it exploded.
"So that is the only thing I heard when the plane was sinking. It went "Bouff!" under the water."
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Tyrone Durham, another witness and retired coast guard officer, said: "It seems as though the power cut out or the engine failed and then I came out from under the tree and looked at the plane.
"It seems as though it was turning to head back to the airport but then with the wind, because I don’t think it had reached the [cruising] altitude so it was apparently going back to the airport."
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