NATO jets follow mystery private aircraft before it crashes into Baltic Sea

A private Cessna plane has mysteriously crashed into the Baltic Sea off Latvia's coast, tracked by NATO jets as it went off course, officials have said.

They believe four people were on board the aircraft and that it was due to land in Cologne, Germany.

NATO pilots could not see anyone in the cockpit, according to reports.

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The FlightRadar24 data tracking website said the plane took off from Jerez de la Frontera in Spain at 12:56 GMT.

It said: "A Cessna 551 that was flying from Jerez was supposed to land in Cologne, but the pilot didn't answer ATC (air traffic control) calls and the aircraft continued to fly on autopilot in a straight line before it lost altitude and crashed into Baltic Sea close to the Latvian coast."