Tarzan actor Joe Lara, 58, is thought to have died in a plane crash

American actor Joe Lara, best known for playing Tarzan, is considered dead after a plane crash in Tennessee.

Tarzan actor Joe Lara, 58, is thought to have died in a plane crash

The 58-year-old man is among seven people believed to have been killed when a small plane crashed into a lake near the town of Smyrna on Saturday.

His doctor wife, Gwen Shamblin Lara, who founded a weight loss church, is also among the victims.

Rescuers said they had found the wreckage and human remains in the area at the scene of the accident.

Mr. Lara played a major role in the 1989 Tarzan TV drama in Manhattan before re-participating in Tarzan's next TV series: The Epic Adventures.

He quit acting in 2002 to pursue his career in country music.

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His wife, 66, was the leader of a Christian weight loss group called Weigh Down Ministries, which he started in 1986.

He has written a best-selling faith-based weight loss book, urging people to "turn away from the love of food and into the love of God", and founded the Remnant Fellowship Church in Brentwood in 1999, according to his website.

The Laras' Cessna C501 plane was carrying seven people when it crashed around 11pm local time (17:00 GMT) on Saturday, shortly after takeoff from Smyrna airport to Palm Beach, Florida, officials said.

The small jet landed at Percy Priest Lake, 12 miles (19km) south of Nashville.

And Mr. and Mrs. Lara, also on board were Mrs. Lara's son-in-law, Brandon Hannah, and couples Jennifer and David Martin, Jessica and Jonathan Walters.

On Saturday night, rescue workers said they had resigned from their rescue operations and were recovering as no one appeared to have survived.

Rescuers found several parts of the plane and human remains in a landfill that was about half a mile wide.

The Remnant Fellowship church issued a statement, saying it had lost its best and most loving leaders in a "terrible tragedy."

He described Mrs. Lara as a gentle, unselfish mother and wife who daily laid down her life to ensure that others could have a relationship with God.