Vittorio Missoni, a key figure in the Missoni fashion house founded by his father, is missing after a plane over Venezuela's Los Roques islands disappeared.
BY Andrea Vogt | 05 January 2013
Venezuela's Interior Minister says rescuers are looking for the small tourist-biplane that has vanished from the radar near the archipelago of Los Roques carrying six people, including Mr Missoni and his wife.
Mr Missoni, 58, is the eldest son of famous stylist Ottavio Missoni and currently heads the American and French affiliates of the luxury brand, as commercial and marketing director of the Missoni SpA. His wife, another couple traveling with Missoni, and two Venezuelan pilots were also on board.
According to justice and interior minister Nestor Reverol, the 1968 British twin engine Norman BN2 vanished on Friday while flying about 10 nautical miles from Los Roques, where the Missoni couple had been spending Christmas and New Year at a resort. The string of islands known for world-class diving, pristine beaches and coral reefs.
The son of the other couple holidaying with them, Pietro Foresti, told Italian news agencies on Saturday: "The only thing we know is that they have interrupted the search."
The three children of the Missoni founders play a key role in the business, worth more than €60.1 million. Vittorio Missoni, 58, is marketing director and in charge of American and French affiliates of the luxury fashion brand. He is seen as crucial to the business side, with his other two siblings design and creative direction of the brand.
The flight was supposed to land at Simon Bolivar di Maiquetia airport about 12 miles from Caracas, but never arrived, bearing eerie similarities to another accident in the same place, on the same date - January 4 - five years ago.
That domestic Transaven flight attempted to ditch after its engines failed and disappeared into the sea without a trace, carrying 14 people, including eight Italians. Air and sea searches were called off without finding any trace of the aircraft.
Italian foreign ministry officials said on Saturday that they were working with Venezuelan authorities to conduct both air and sea searches for the plane.
BY Andrea Vogt | 05 January 2013
Venezuela's Interior Minister says rescuers are looking for the small tourist-biplane that has vanished from the radar near the archipelago of Los Roques carrying six people, including Mr Missoni and his wife.
Mr Missoni, 58, is the eldest son of famous stylist Ottavio Missoni and currently heads the American and French affiliates of the luxury brand, as commercial and marketing director of the Missoni SpA. His wife, another couple traveling with Missoni, and two Venezuelan pilots were also on board.
According to justice and interior minister Nestor Reverol, the 1968 British twin engine Norman BN2 vanished on Friday while flying about 10 nautical miles from Los Roques, where the Missoni couple had been spending Christmas and New Year at a resort. The string of islands known for world-class diving, pristine beaches and coral reefs.
The son of the other couple holidaying with them, Pietro Foresti, told Italian news agencies on Saturday: "The only thing we know is that they have interrupted the search."
The three children of the Missoni founders play a key role in the business, worth more than €60.1 million. Vittorio Missoni, 58, is marketing director and in charge of American and French affiliates of the luxury fashion brand. He is seen as crucial to the business side, with his other two siblings design and creative direction of the brand.
The flight was supposed to land at Simon Bolivar di Maiquetia airport about 12 miles from Caracas, but never arrived, bearing eerie similarities to another accident in the same place, on the same date - January 4 - five years ago.
That domestic Transaven flight attempted to ditch after its engines failed and disappeared into the sea without a trace, carrying 14 people, including eight Italians. Air and sea searches were called off without finding any trace of the aircraft.
Italian foreign ministry officials said on Saturday that they were working with Venezuelan authorities to conduct both air and sea searches for the plane.