Actor Christian Oliver, born Christian Klepser, died in a plane crash off the coast of a Caribbean Island on Thursday. According to a report in The Guardian, his daughters, Annik and Madita Klepser (ages 10 and 12 respectively) and the plane’s pilot and owner Robert Sachs were also pronounced dead at the scene, the police said.
People magazine reported that the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force said in their statement that the incident occurred off the island of Bequia while the plane was on its way to St. Lucia from JF Mitchell airport in Paget Farm.
The authorities stated, “Moments after taking off, the aircraft experienced difficulties and plummeted into the ocean. Fishermen and divers from Paget Farm went to the scene of the incident in their boats to render assistance,” adding that the SVG Coast Guard also traveled to Bequia when they were informed of the incident to begin rescue efforts.
The actor has worked in shows like Saved by the Bell: The New Class and George Clooney and Cate Blanchett’s The Good German and films like Speed Racer and the Tom Cruise-starrer Valkyrie. Filmmaker Nick Lyon, who had earlier posted a picture with Oliver on their last day of filming Forever Hold Your Peace, took to Instagram to express his condolences, “Rest In Peace my friend @christianoliverofficial.”
In his earlier post, he had written in the caption, “This is our 5th film together. @christianoliverofficial and me produced this one, and this is our last day of filming! We talked about producing a film together for years and finally did it! Thank you for being a great colleague, actor and friend @christianoliverofficial #foreverholdyourpeace.”
His co-star Bai Ling also posted a tribute to the late actor and wrote, “Dear Christian Oliver @christianoliverofficial with tears in my eyes I cannot express the sorrow I felt when our direct Nick called me not long ago, that the plane he took had crashed , including his beautiful 2 daughters and the pilot had all passed! In the Caribbean‘s. He was having holidays. (sic)”
Ling went on to call Oliver a “brave actor and a beautiful gentle person”.
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