Missoni CEO missing after Venezuelan flight

By Amanda Powell

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It is easy to remember the clothing and product line at Target featuring endless colors and variations of a zigzag pattern.

The line is so popular, in fact, that Target’s website crashed when the pieces became available online.

The designs are from Missoni, an Italian fashion label.

Vittorio Missoni, the CEO of the company, went missing last week with five others while returning from a vacation in Venezuela.

According to The New York Times, Interior Minister Néstor Reverol said Friday night on Venezuelan television that the plane took off from Los Roques at 11:29 a.m. and its last known position was 10 nautical miles south of there. There are no signs of a wreck and no evidence has been found. Searches have been ongoing with boats and aircrafts.

Approximately 400 people are contributing to the search, including around 30 divers, ABC News reported.

Kidnapping was also a topic that multiple Italian news stations were discussing. However, according to The New York Times,  a Reuters report noted a fellow pilot had seen Missoni’s plane fly into a big cloud.

The family is still not giving up on the chance for survival.

We are full of hope and confidence for the work that the authorities have done so far,” said Angela Missoni, chief designer of the brand and Missoni’s sister, in a statement. “We will not give up.”

The flight was supposed to take 42 minutes to reach its destination of Caracas’ Simon Bolivar International Airport.

On Jan. 4, 2008, a plane on a flight from Caracas to Los Roques disappeared after crashing with 14 people aboard, including eight Italians, a Swiss man and five Venezuelans. The pilot had radioed to controllers that he was having engine trouble before the plane went down as it approached the islands.

The body of the Venezuelan co-pilot later washed ashore, but no wreckage was recovered and most of those on board remain missing.

Nothing has been reported about when the search parties will cease, so for now the hunt for Missoni continues.