Investigators search for clues in Saturday’s small plane crash in Lika

Police and air accident investigators spent Sunday morning gathering evidence to determine the cause of the crash of a small plane that went down over Mala Kapela on Saturday.

The model Cirrus 20, registered in the Netherlands, was discovered Sunday evening in a densely wooded and difficult to reach area on the north side of the mountain. The aircraft was on fire when it was found and its body badly burnt.

"The airplane was discovered at the crash site, completely burnt. According to the information we have gathered, we believe there were two passengers on board besides the pilot at the time of the crash,” said Irena Golubić Rajković, a deputy county state's attorney in Karlovac.

This is making it difficult for investigators to determine how many people were on board.

"DNA analysis will be required because the crash site was in such a state that we could not visually determine the number of victims," said lead investigator Danko Petrin.

The parts of the plane and the human remains were transported down the mountain by the Mountain Rescue Service.

"The terrain is very inaccessible. After the crash site was inspected, our team brought down the human remains to the nearest road,” said Mladen Porubić, a flight instructor and members of the Mountain Rescue Service.

The plane had taken off from Maribor and was bound for Pula.