Chile military plane disappears with 38 people on board – TheNigerialawyer

SANTIAGO, Chile — Chile’s air force said it lost radio contact
with a transport plane carrying 38 people on a flight Monday
evening to the country’s base in Antarctica.

It said the military had declared an alert and activated search
and rescue teams.

The C-130 Hercules carried 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 Chilean
base.

President Sebastián Piñera said via Twitter that he was with his
defense and interior ministers at the air force headquarters
monitoring developments.

The plane took off at 4:55 p.m. from the southern city of Punta
Arenas, which is more than 3,000 kilometers (1,860 miles) from the
capital of Santiago. Contact was lost at 6:13 p.m., the statement
said.

The air force said late Monday that the weather good at the time
contact was lost.

Gráfica que complementa Comunicado de Prensa
#FACh pic.twitter.com/Elcbaudk48^[1][2]

— Fuerza Aérea de Chile (@FACh_Chile) December
10, 2019^[3]

Gen. Eduardo Mosqueira of the Fourth Air Brigade told local
media that a search was underway and a ship was in the area where
the plane should have been when contact was lost.

Mosqueira said the aircraft would have been about halfway to the
Antarctic base when it lost contact. No emergency signals had been
activated, he said.

He said the plane, whose pilot had extensive experience, had
been scheduled to return Monday night.