Witness Says Wing Separated Before Crash

It appears all four crewmembers onboard a Swedish Coast Guard CASA 212 were lost Thursday, after their plane went down in the sea off the southern coast of that country.

The Associated Press reports the aircraft went into a man-made canal canal near Falsterbo, on the tip of Sweden's southwestern coast. The plane sank before rescue boats could get to it, according to sea rescue service spokesman Peter Lindquist.

A spokeswoman with the Coast Guard told Germany's Deutsche Press-Agentur the crew was on a routine patrol flight, monitoring fishing vessels and looking out for suspected oil spills when the twin turboprop went down.

Witnesses told the Swedish news agency TT a wing separated from the plane before it crashed, but rescue officials could not confirm those reports. Others say the plane was flying at a very low altitude before the accident.

The agency has grounded its two remaining CASA 212s, pending a probe by the Swedish Accident Investigation Board. Authorities planned an attempt to salvage the plane Friday.

FMI: www.kustbevakningen.se/