CHILE – A military plane with 38 people on board has disappeared en route to Antarctica, the country’s air force said.
The C-130 Hercules transport aircraft took off from Punta Arenas around 16:55 local time on Monday (19:55 GMT), and operators lost contact soon after 18:00 (21:00).
Among the missing were 17 crew members and 21 passengers.
Air Force General Eduardo Mosqueira said the plane did not activate any distress signal while flying to Chile’s Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva base, on Antarctica’s King George Island.
The air force said the plane was around 450 miles into its 770-mile journey when the contact was lost, placing it within the Drake Passage – a body of water connecting the South Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans, and is known for treacherous weather conditions.(BBC)
