The Chilean Air Force on Monday evening lost radio contact with a transport plane carrying 38 people to the country’s base in Antarctica and authorities indicated several hours later that they were not optimistic about the aircraft’s fate.
The military earlier said that it had declared an alert and activated search-and-rescue teams.
The C-130 Hercules was carrying 17 crew members and 21 passengers, including three civilians. The personnel were to check on a floating fuel supply line and other equipment at the base.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said on Twitter that he was with his defense and interior ministers at the air force headquarters monitoring developments.
In a statement early yesterday, the air force said that the airplane had not been heard from in more than seven hours and likely would have run out of fuel at about 12:40am.
The air force “continues the search in the sector where communication with the aircraft was lost, in order to rescue potential survivors,” the statement said.
The airplane took off at 4:53pm from the southern city of Punta Arenas, which is more than 3,000km from Santiago.
Contact was lost at 6:13pm, the initial announcement said.
Drake’s Passage, where the airplane went missing, is infamous for severe weather conditions, including freezing temperatures and ferocious storms.
However, the air force late on Monday said that the weather was good when the airplane began its flight, or the mission would not have been carried out.
Fourth Air Brigade commander General Eduardo Mosqueira told local media that a search was under way and a ship was in the general area where the airplane should have been when contact was lost.
The aircraft would have been about halfway to the Antarctic base when it lost contact, Mosqueira said, adding that no emergency signals had been activated.
The airplane, whose pilot had extensive experience, had been scheduled to return on Monday night, he said.
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