Chile finds debris in search for missing air force plane
Debris believed to be from a missing cargo plane was located on Wednesday (December 11) over a remote stretch of sea, between South America and the Antarctic by the Chilean Air Force.
38 people were on board the aircraft, which disappeared shortly after taking off late on Monday from the southern Chilean city of Punta Arenas.
The debris was found more than 18 miles south of where the plane last made contact, with the recovered parts sent for analysis to determine if they belonged to the Hercules C-130 cargo plane.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) AIR FORCE GENERAL EDUARDO MOSQUEIRA, SAYING:
"The finding was made by the vessel with the Chilean flag Antarctic Endeavour. The remains would indicate that they could be part of the sponge of the internal fuel tanks of a C-130".
The flight appeared routine until the moment it disappeared, while the Air Force concluded the aircraft must have crashed early the next morning, given the number of hours it had been missing.
The cause of the crash is still unknown and officials acknowledged the chances of finding survivors is slim.
(SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CHIEF COMMANDER, RONALD BAASCH, SAYING:
"We are going to use the capabilities of the Brazilian naval ship Maximiano while we wait for the arrival of the Chilean naval ship the Cape Horn so as to check the seabed for evidence."
The region where the plane disappeared is a vast, largely untouched ocean wilderness of penguin-inhabited ice sheets off the edge of the South American continent with depths of 11,500 feet.
