A private plane has crashed off the Latvian coast after NATO jets were scrambled to monitor its journey.
The Cessna 551 set off from Jerez in southern Spain at 1.56pm UK time without a destination specified, according to data on FlightRadar24.
German news site Bild said it was supposed to land at Cologne-Bonn airport but reported pressure problems in the cabin shortly after take off.
It turned at Paris and headed past Cologne and out over the Baltic Sea, passing close to the Swedish island of Gotland, before the flight tracking site lists it as rapidly losing altitude and speed at 6.37pm.
Sweden’s rescue service said it crashed in the sea, northwest of Ventspils in Latvia.
NATO jets from the Baltic Air Police mission in Estonia had earlier been scrambled to follow the plane, said a Lithuanian air force spokesperson.
They had reportedly been unable to see anyone in the cockpit.
