SANTIAGO, (Reuters) – A Chilean air force plane disappeared near the Juan Fernandez islands in the Pacific Ocean with 21 people aboard today and was presumed to have crashed, authorities said.
Defense Minister Andres Allamand said the CASA 212 military plane tried twice to land before it went missing in the late afternoon. He said nightfall was hampering search efforts.
“As it was approaching the island, it was declared missing after radio contact was lost,” Allamand said, adding search teams were heading to the area.
Captain Otto Mrugalski, who is directing search and rescue efforts, said no remains of the plane had been found around the Juan Fernandez islands, which lie about 420 miles (670 km) off Chile’s coast.
The mayor of the islands, Leopoldo Gonzalez, told state television that passengers’ belongings had been found in the sea about a kilometer (0.6 mile) from the islands’ landing strip. Local radio Bio Bio later cited Gonzalez as saying a door of the plane had been found in the water.
Felipe Paredes, who mans the control tower at the landing strip, said he saw the plane struggling to land and cited heavy winds and sporadic rain.
“When the plane was blown off course by the wind, it managed to pull up again,” Paredes said. He said he then lost sight of the plane.
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