Lithuanian plane searched after missing over Baltic Sea

Lithuanian authorities on Sunday continue searching for the plane that went missing on Saturday over the Baltic Sea.

According to the Civil Aviation Administration, the single-engine plane An-2, with capacity of 12 passengers, was carrying two pilots and no passengers on board. The plane which was flying from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Lithuania, lost contact with the ground Saturday evening, 97 nautical miles from Lithuanian shores.

According to the national defense ministry, the searching zone has been expanded to neighboring Latvian territory on Sunday morning.

The plane belongs to Klaipedos Avialinijos, a Klaipeda-based company providing parachute jumping, fertilization from the air as well as filming and photography services.

Viktoras Sisniauskas, director of Klaipedos Avialinijos, told BNS that the Polish-built plane was purchased in Sweden.

The plane has life rafts and life saving equipment. Both pilots are over 60 years old with more than 15,000 hours of flight experience, according to Sisniauskas.