Two dead after plane crashes onto German house's roof

Two men flying in a small private plane died Saturday when they crashed into the roof of a house in northwestern Germany, police said.

The light aircraft came down in a residential area of Ganderkesee, near Oldenburg, striking the pitched roof of a house head-on.

Police had initially reported one of the occupants -- men aged 65 and 77 from Bremen -- had died and one was missing.

But following "lengthy and complex recovery operations for the plane wreckage", police determined that both men had lost their lives in the crash, the Delmenhorst police department stated.

The wreckage embedded in the roof was removed, and residents who had been evacuated were able to return to their homes.

Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the cause of the accident.