Missing private plane located at bottom of sea, but two pilots nowhere to be found

Lithuanian authorities have found a missing private plane at the bottom of the Baltic sea, but its two pilots were not inside.

"There were no bodies in the aircraft so we're continuing our search," defence ministry spokesman Vaidotas Linkus told AFP.

The An-2 civilian aircraft disappeared Saturday afternoon en route from Sweden to the western Lithuanian city of Klaipeda with two experienced Lithuanian pilots and no other passengers on board.

The pilots did not issue a distress signal before their aircraft disappeared in good weather conditions nor did they report any problems when they made their last contact.

A Lithuanian military ship detected the aircraft at a depth of 124m and 116km from shore.

Authorities said an underwater camera identified the plane's registration number.