Britons dead in Italian air crash

The aircraft was returning from a flight to Venice

Two Britons have died in a light aircraft plane crash in north west Italy, the Foreign Office has said.

The plane carrying John Ritchie, 81, from Hertfordshire, and dentist Kevin Young, 54, from Cambridgeshire, came down near Rovereto on 1 June.

According to reports, the Italian pilot and his wife were also killed.

A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said that the next of kin had been informed and that consular assistance was being provided.

'Very experienced'

The plane had taken off from Nicelli airport in Venice and stopped in Trento before crashing during the return leg of the trip.

All four victims are understood to have belonged to the Flying Rotarians, part of the Rotary International organisation.

Tributes to Mr Ritchie, from Letchworth, were paid by Brian Marshall, president of the town's Rotary Club.

"He was fascinated by the flying Rotarians and enjoyed that very much," he said.

"He was a great man, very active and liked by everyone. He will very genuinely be very much missed by all."

Mr Young lived in March with his wife and two young children.

A spokesman for the Rotary Club said: "Kevin was a friendly and cheerful personality who will be sorely missed, not only in Rotary but also by the wider community."

'Engine failure'

The Italian pilot, named as Vittorio Rossetti, was "very experienced", the Gazzettino newspaper said. His wife, Marinella, who is also believed to have died in the crash.

Engine failure was the likely cause of the accident, the newspaper added.

According to the AP news agency, the aircraft came down in a ravine of the Borcola Pass, 50 miles north of Verona.

An accident reconstruction reportedly suggested the single-engined Socata Tampico aircraft had crashed in thick woodland, rolled for some distance and caught fire.

Witnesses told the Italian press they had seen the aircraft flying at a low altitude before dropping sharply to the ground at about 1630 local time (1530 BST).

During the weekend the Rotarians held a conference in Venice, which included a trip to an aeronautical museum in Trento.

The Italian air safety agency has begun an investigation.