Sharjah24 - AFP: A small private plane with five German citizens on board has gone missing after departing from Mexico off the coast of Costa Rica, Costa Rican Public Security Minister Jorge Torres was quoted by Sputnik.

"We received a message about the [disappearance] of a private plane en route from Mexico to the airport of the city of Limon. There were five passengers of German nationality on board. The plane lost contact with the control tower while flying over the Parismina area in the Costa Rican basin of the Caribbean," Torres said in a video statement released by Costa Rican news website Observador.

The minister added that after the loss of contact with the aircraft, an emergency protocol was activated with the participation of the coast guard and the air surveillance service. Due to bad weather conditions, however, the search mission was suspended but will be resumed today.