'Speed Racer' actor Christian Oliver and his two young daughters die in Caribbean plane crash

Actor Christian Oliver, his two young daughters and the pilot died in a plane crash near a Caribbean island on Thursday, Royal St. Petersburg said. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force was announced.

Oliver, whose real name was Christian Klepser, was 51 years old. Their daughters, Madita Klepser and Annick Klepser, were 12 and 10 years old respectively. Pilot Robert Sachs also died in the crash. He was the only passenger on board the plane.

The aircraft was a small, single-engine aircraft owned and operated by Sachs. It crashed Thursday afternoon about a nautical mile west of Petit Nevis, a small island in the Grenadines. The plane took off from J.F. Mitchell Airport at Paget Farm, an island in Bequia, Grenadines, at approximately 12:11 p.m. Bound for St. Louis. Lucia is its final destination.

"Moments after takeoff, the plane encountered difficulties and fell into the sea," Royal St. Petersburg said. the Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force wrote in a statement. “Fishermen and divers from Paget Farm went to the scene in their boats to provide assistance. The SVG Coast Guard was informed and immediately traveled to Paget Farm, Bequia, to lead rescue efforts.

The bodies of Oliver, her children, and Sachs were recovered by the Coast Guard and later declared dead by a medical officer. He was taken to St. Louis. Vincent and was taken to Kingstown Mortuary, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Oliver had dozens of credits to his name from 1990 to 2020. He most recently appeared in last year's "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" and played racecar driver Snake Oiler in "Speed Racer" (2008). He also had roles in "Sense8," "Inspector George Gently," "The Baby-Sitters Club," "Saved by the Bell: The New Class" and others.