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Seaplane crashes into Swiss lake, killing a 60-year-old woman

Recovered seaplane crashed into Lake Zug
Recovered seaplane crashed into Lake Zug Keystone-SDA

A seaplane crashed into Lake Zug, near Cham, at 1:45 pm on Friday. Two people were on board, including a 60-year-old woman who died.

The accident occurred during an air show, the criminal prosecution authorities in Zug announced on Friday evening.

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The 49-year-old pilot, who was unharmed, managed to exit the plane on his own and reach safety. The seaplane ended up at a depth of approximately 10 meters, about 200 meters from the shore. The 60-year-old woman, who was reported missing at the time, was recovered by divers, but was already deceased.

Due to the fuel spill, floating barriers were installed. The air show was interrupted, and a relief team was called to provide support to family members and others present.

The aircraft was lifted from a depth of ten meters near Cham and brought to shore. Schwyz cantonal police divers attached several ropes to the sunken plane. The wreckage was then carefully raised with an excavator mounted on a floating platform.

Investigations into the recovery of the plane are ongoing. The exact cause of the accident will be determined under the direction of the Zug Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, in close collaboration with the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (STSB) and the Zug police.

Adapted from Italian by DeepL/ac

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