PUNTA ARENAS, Chile, Dec 14, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Remains of people killed in a
military plane crash that claimed 38 lives were flown Friday to a military
base in Chile for identification.
The remains were brought in aboard a Hercules C-130 plane — just like the
one that went down Monday off the southern tip of South America — and turned
over to the local coroner’s office, AFP observed.
A total of 39 relatives of 11 crash victims flew Friday from the capital
Santiago to Punta Arenas, where the base is located, to provide DNA samples.
Thirty-eight people — 21 passengers and 17 crew — were on the plane
headed to a base across the Drake Passage in the Antarctic. That rough
waterway links the Atlantic and Pacific.
Authorities say they have not ruled out anything as to the cause of the
crash.
The plane made no emergency signal prior to its disappearance, indicating
the circumstances of the accident were likely abrupt.
The Air Force has said the plane’s maintenance record was in order.
It also said it will investigate a Whatsapp audio message sent by a
passenger to relatives that allegedly said the plane was having electrical
problems.
Debris from the plane was located in a 12 square mile (30 square
kilometers) area in the Drake Passage, a storm-tossed body of water south of
Cape Horn.