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celebrity deaths
Christian Oliver, the German actor known for his roles in Speed Racer and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, has reportedly died in a plane crash, according to The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF). He was 51.
Local authorities revealed in a social media post that four bodies — including the actor and his young daughters Madita (10) and Annik (12), as well as the pilot — were recovered after a private aircraft crashed into the Caribbean Sea on Thursday (Jan. 4).
“The RSVGPF expresses condolences to all who are negatively affected by this tragic incident,” they said in a statement on Facebook. “The RSVGPF will update the public as more information is gathered. Investigation into the matter continues.”
The group had taken off around noon from the J.F. Mitchell Airport in Paget Farm and was heading for St. Lucia when the plane reportedly “experienced difficulties and plummeted into the ocean.” Nearby fishermen and divers quickly rushed to the scene of the incident, where they were able to locate the aircraft, which had sunk into “70 feet of water, ” according to local outlet Searchlight.
By the time Coast Guard personnel had recovered the bodies, they were all pronounced deceased and subsequently transported to Kingstown Mortuary in St. Vincent, “where post-mortem examinations are expected to be carried out to ascertain the cause of death.”
Oliver, whose real name was Christian Klepser, grew up in Frankfurt, Germany, before moving to the U.S. when he was 21 to start his career in modeling and acting.
The star made his acting debut in Saved by the Bell: The New Class, where he starred as Brian Keller in the spinoff’s second season from 1994 to 1995. A little over a decade later, he starred in the George Clooney and Cate Blanchett-led drama The Good German. In 2008, he appeared as Snake Oiler in the racing comedy Speed Racer.
Earlier this week, Oliver posted a picture from his island vacation.
“Let love rule. Wishing all of you the best for 2024,” he wrote over a photo of a beach sunset, before adding the caption, “Greetings from somewhere in paradise! To community and love …2024 [here] we come!”
