{"id":42081,"date":"2019-12-11T23:59:15","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T23:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/12\/11\/chile-searchers-find-debris-from-missing-plane-carrying-38\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T20:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T20:01:02","slug":"chile-searchers-find-debris-from-missing-plane-carrying-38","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2019\/12\/11\/chile-searchers-find-debris-from-missing-plane-carrying-38\/","title":{"rendered":"Chile: Searchers find debris from missing plane carrying 38"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

PUNTA ARENAS, Chile \u2014 Debris believed to be from a military transport plane carrying 38 people<\/a> that vanished two days earlier on the way to Antarctica has been discovered in the frigid, treacherous waters of the Drake Passage, Chile\u2019s Air Force said Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air Force Gen. Eduardo Mosqueira said \u201csponge\u201d material, possibly from the plane\u2019s fuel tank, was spotted floating roughly 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the place the C-130 Hercules last had radio contact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debris will be analyzed to see if it corresponds to the missing plane, he said, adding that the process could take up to two days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The C-130 Hercules took off Monday afternoon from a base in far-southern Chile on a regular maintenance flight for an Antarctic base. Radio contact was lost 70 minutes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The debris was spotted by a private plane assisting in the search, and officials said a Brazilian plane in the area equipped with instruments will next scan 3,200 meters (10,499 feet) underwater at the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We estimate that the debris may in fact be from the C-130 fuel tank,” Mosqueira said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t