Santiago, Chile — A Chilean air force plane with 21 people aboard, including a popular local television host, crashed Friday near the Juan Fernandez islands in the Pacific Ocean, authorities said.
The Casa 212 military plane tried twice to land at the airport on the remote Chilean island but strong wind gusts buffeted the aircraft and it later was lost from sight, said Felipe Paredes, a local council member who was in the airport's control tower at the time.
Rescuers in boats were searching for the plane and survivors, but the mayor of Juan Fernandez, Leopoldo Gonzalez, said some luggage had been found in the water and it was clear the plane crashed.
"We assume that there was an accident and that there are no survivors," Gonzalez said.
Rescue teams later found an intact door and several knapsacks in the water about 2,000 meters (yards) from the island's airport, authorities said.
President Sebastian Pinera expressed sadness.
The Casa 212 military plane tried twice to land at the airport on the remote Chilean island but strong wind gusts buffeted the aircraft and it later was lost from sight, said Felipe Paredes, a local council member who was in the airport's control tower at the time.
Rescuers in boats were searching for the plane and survivors, but the mayor of Juan Fernandez, Leopoldo Gonzalez, said some luggage had been found in the water and it was clear the plane crashed.
"We assume that there was an accident and that there are no survivors," Gonzalez said.
Rescue teams later found an intact door and several knapsacks in the water about 2,000 meters (yards) from the island's airport, authorities said.
President Sebastian Pinera expressed sadness.
- 9/3/2011
- by AP
- Huffington Post
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.