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A small plane carrying Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara, her husband and five other members of the Remnant Fellowship Church crashed into lake in Tennessee, killing at least one on Saturday.
The Cessna C501 slammed into the water in Percy Priest Lake in Smyrna, Tennessee around 11 a.m. leaving at least one person dead who has not yet been identified, WTVF reported.
The plane is registered to Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband Joe Lara’s company JL&GL Productions LP, the outlet reported.
A small plane carrying Christian diet guru Gwen Shablin, left, as well as her husband and five other members of the Remnant Fellowship Church crashed into lake in Tennessee
A Cessna owned by JL&GL PRODUCTIONS LP, believed to be the one that wrecked, is pictured
The Remnant Fellowship Church is pictured in Brentwood, Tennessee
A boat is seen on the Percy Priest Lake in Smyrna, Tennessee after the plane crash
Emergency responders are pictured at Percy Priest Lake in Smyrna as they searchfor survivors of the wreck
Dive crews were reportedly seen at the lake looking for debris and survivors on Saturday afternoon
Shamblin Lara, who founded the church in 1999, is the author of The Weigh Down Diet – a diet based in Christian practices. Her status after the wreck is not known.
Her website describes her as the ‘pioneer of faith-based weight loss.’
The Federal Aviation Administration told WTVF that the plane left from the Smyrna Rutherford County Airport just before it wrecked. It was reportedly bound for Palm Beach International Airport.
The plane was said to have gone into the water near the Fate Sanders boat ramp, according to Tennessee Highway Patrol.
The plane, built in 1982, is a fixed-wing plane with two engines and eight seats, according to the website Flight Aware. It was not immediately clear who was piloting the plane.
Brentwood-based Christian diet guru Gwen Shamblin Lara and her husband Joe Lara, who were both reportedly on the plane, are pictured. Her daughter, Elizabeth Hannah, right, was not on the plane but Hannah’s husband Brandon Hannah reportedly was
Pictured: Jonathan Walters and his wife Jessica Walters were also reportedly on the flight
Pictured: David Martin and his wife Jennifer Martin were also reportedly on the flight
Dive teams are continuing to search the lake for debris and survivors, Nashville Public Radio reported.
Elizabeth Hannah, her daughter, sent out an internal text to families of the church telling them the plane ‘had to go down for a controlled, quick landing,’ WTVF reported.
Officials have not revealed the names of anyone on the plane but Hannah’s text identified them as her own husband, Brandon Hannah, along with the Laras church leaders David and Jennifer Martin and Jonathan and Jessica Walters.
‘More information to come, but be in prayer – and be at peace. GOD IS IN CONTROL, and we will not stop moving forward with WHAT GOD WANTS with this church,’ Hannah wrote.
The Remnant Fellowship told DailyMail.com in a statement that ‘authorities have not been unable to communicate with the families of those involved’ because no details have been confirmed.
‘The Shamblins, Hannahs and Laras appreciate your concern, support and prayers,’ the church said in the statement.
‘As has been reported by the media, some family members may have been involved in a plane accident this morning.
‘The families are awaiting details from the authorities. Because no details have been confirmed, the authorities have been unable to communicate with the families of those involved,’ the statement reads.
‘The families will share details at the appropriate time.’
According to the church’s website, it was founded by Lara in 1999 and it has since grown in membership with more than 150 churches in the United States and Canada, and across several continents.
Gwen Shamblin Lara: The woman who created the Weigh Down Diet
Gwen Shamblin Lara is a registered dietician and has a master’s degree in food and nutrition.
Her interest in weight loss started in college after gaining about 20 poubds, according to her website.
She has said she was ‘permanently set free’ from being overweight and dieting by ‘studying God’s perfect design and naturally thin eaters.’
Lara founded her Weigh Down workshops in 1992, in which dieters lose weight by using ‘the same Bible-based principles’ people use to turn away from other addictions such as smoking or alcohol abuse.
In 1997, she published her book The Weigh Down Diet which sold more than 1.2 million copies by 1999, Time reported.
By August 1998, Weigh Down held more than 21,000 classes with over 250,000 reported participants worldwide, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Publisher notes for the book on Amazon read: ‘This is not a diet like others, because it is not food-focused.’
‘Weigh Down gives back hope to dieters who will learn that God did not put chocolate or lasagna on Earth to torture us – but rather for our enjoyment!’ the publisher wrote.
